Goodnight Sweet Girl
by CassBlake
Summary: It possessed a magic that could bring about what its owner most desired. The wishing stone was a gift and a curse, a doubleedged sword that brings about dreams and molds them into reality. It’s Draco Malfoy’s seventh year at Hogwarts... [Complete]
1. One: The Wishing Stone

Goodnight Sweet Girl  
By C.K. Blake  
  
Summary: It possessed a magic that could bring about what its owner most desired. The wishing stone was a gift and a curse, a double-edged sword that brings about dreams and molds them into reality. It's Draco Malfoy's seventh year at Hogwarts and just who is the newest Gryffindor in the fold, and what secrets is she hiding? Very unconventional...  
  
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
Acknowledgements: I would like to say thank you to my ever faithful bud and beta, Lissa. I know those late night edits must take their toll, but you make it work! Love ya Liss! Hope you enjoy!  
  
One: The Wishing Stone  
  
The snow fell lightly outside, the windows decorated in the patterns that the ice dictated, and the room was warm from the elaborate fireplace that faced the large dark cherry wood four-poster bed with the rich blue curtains and canopy. In the bed was the room's sole occupant. He was breathing lightly in his sleep seeing the beautiful girl in his dreams again. She had long silvery blonde hair, that almost matched the color of moonlight on a lake's surface, and her eyes were a startling gray, almost silver. She looked a lot like him, and she was talking to someone, a boy with messy dark hair, his back was to her so the boy's face as well as his identity was unknown.  
  
Suddenly there was something pulling at him. He tried to protest so he could continue to watch the beautiful girl and figure out whom she was talking to. Still consciousness dragged him out of the dream and into the blue silk sheets and blue silk coverlet of his bed. Draco arched off of the bed in an elegant and luxurious stretch and moaned as his muscles began to relax and settle into wakefulness.  
  
He slowly got out of bed, yawned, and then scratched the back of his head. He quickly realized what morning it was when he noticed the great pile of presents at the end of his bed. He tore through the wrapping paper and revealed a new Firebolt, a whole new wardrobe of elegant designer clothes and dress robes, a new fencing sword, a brown leather bound book, and a strange light blue stone clasped within the grasp of a silver falcon's claw that hung from a thin silver chain.  
  
His parents had given him the clothing and the Firebolt and the sword was a gift specifically from his father. The leather bound book was journal and that had been a gift from his godfather, Severus Snape, obviously Snape remembered Draco's confession of his secret passion. Draco enjoyed writing and poetry, although he would never admit it beyond his godfather's confidence, even under the direst of torture.  
  
Draco looked at the strange blue stone, examining it closely. It was hypnotic, the color suggested that the stone was moonstone, that would be good for dreams and sleeping and gods knew he was in need of sleep. He'd been having restless nights for so long. Still, who had sent the gift? It didn't matter if it would help him sleep that night. He clasped the chain around his neck and allowed the stone to rest against his chest, the stone wasn't even cold, but was actually fairly warm. He got up and dressed quickly in a beige cashmere sweater and black trousers. He put on a pair of socks to keep his feet warm against the cold flagstones of the floor.  
  
He picked up the journal from his godfather with a smile and felt a familiar itch in his right hand. He shook his head with a smirk and went over to his dark cherry wood desk. He sat down at the desk, opened the book, pulled out quill and ink, and then began to write:  
  
Moonlight in her hair, a pale streaming river Down a back so fair, eyes of silver, Piercing, sharp, and ever so bold, For the dark haired one to behold. Yet his eyes are cast aside. How blind must he be?  
  
Beauty is at his back, yet he continues forth. What journey dare he undertake? His thirst for her, refuse he to slake? Turn back and look upon her in love. Bring her bliss; save her from the night in her heart,  
  
Give her Apollo's kiss...  
  
He read over the poem and felt apprehension build in his stomach. Did that dream mean something if it was so easy to write about? Draco blew on the page until the ink was dry and then closed the book. He was going to have to remember to thank Severus for the gift. Draco put the book in his desk drawer just as there was a knock on his door and his father entered his room.  
  
"Ah, Draco, I see you've already opened your gifts. I hope you are pleased. I appreciate the cane, the ruby eyes on the serpent was a nice touch. I request your presence at lunch. Oh and your mother wishes to speak with you, of what I'm not certain, it must not be terribly important, but go see her just for good measure. I'll see you within the hour then?" Lucius said as more of an order than a request.  
  
Draco inclined his head in agreement and spoke. "Of course Father."  
  
"Very well then. Continue with whatever it was you were doing. Oh, and later this evening I have some things to tell you regarding our inestimable Mr. Potter. The Dark Lord has plans for you my boy. Just think, in three days you'll be in his service." Lucius was practically beaming. "Following in the steps of your father. Make me proud boy. Make me proud."  
  
"Always Father."  
  
With that Lucius Malfoy left Draco alone to his own devices. Draco sighed and took in a deep breath. "Looks like I'm destined to be mini Lucius. Bloody hell, there is no freedom for me. What I wouldn't give for freedom, for the ability to for once go my own way and be able to fall in love!"  
  
Draco was tired of the world his father wanted for him. He wanted a chance to make mistakes and live, but most importantly he wanted to know warmth, carnal passion... Love. He looked around his room. It was almost bare with the exception of his bookshelves, desk, bed, and wardrobe. The wrapping paper on the floor had already been cleared up by the house elves while he'd been writing. The place was untouched by anything personal. Draco almost laughed to himself. Emotions were a sign of weakness, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to feel. I want to be weak, just once, he thought to himself.  
  
"Damn him and all of this. I never asked to be born a Malfoy!" He yelled to the empty room.  
  
His fingers instinctively went to the chain and he felt the warmth of the stone, the thrum of power that surrounded it, and soon he was comforted. The boy took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. It was best to go see what his mother wanted from him before lunch rather than endure her questions at the meal.  
  
He left his room and followed several corridors until he was in the solarium, the one room he was sure to find his mother. She was sitting in a plush black chair by the fire. He sat across from her and noticed her dozing lightly, a book resting face down in her lap. He almost smiled at the sight of her. She was a beautiful woman. Long platinum blonde hair framing her elegant face, and she had beautiful sapphire blue eyes. Seeing her, there asleep in the chair, brought back his dream. He let out a gasp. Was she the girl from his dream? It couldn't have been. The girl had silver eyes, not blue. But then who was the girl, and more importantly, who was the boy she'd been talking to?  
  
He leaned back in the chair that faced his mother and lost himself in his thoughts. His mind kept circling back to the poem he'd written and the identity of the girl, that he didn't notice his mother startle awake until he heard her voice call his name.  
  
"Draco?" Her voice was a cool breeze, an artic chill. Draco quickly snapped from his reverie.  
  
"Yes, Mother? Father said you wanted to see me."  
  
She looked at him and nodded once. "You have been home for nearly four days and you never came to see me. I was worried that you had forgotten me. You are a handsome boy. You look so much like me. What a pity you got your father's eyes. Sometimes it gives me a chill to look into your eyes."  
  
"If I give you such a 'chill' then why do you insist on being in my company? Honestly, I have no time for any trivial conversation. What is it that you want? And hurry to the point. I wouldn't want to be late for lunch since Father has specifically requested my presence as well as yours," Draco drawled in a bored voice.  
  
"You can be so cruel sometimes, just like your father."  
  
His eyes blazed in anger. "Never compare me to him. I am nothing like him! And don't pretend like you care, Narcissa! You spend all day reading your little books and collecting your jewels! You are more cold then any chill you could feel from my eyes!"  
  
She flinched from her son's words. "Perhaps I deserve that, but you were brought up to respect me. Never mind. I wanted to know if you have found anyone yet? It would be nice if you brought home tidings of a girl. You know that your father would like to see you married after this year. He wants to know that you have produced an heir to carry on the Malfoy name. If you do not find a witch of high breeding soon... Well, your father has made arrangements with the Parkinsons, and they approve of your joining with their daughter."  
  
"I won't marry that pug faced cow! I simply refuse. I will find someone suitable soon enough. You needn't worry about that! And the Parkinsons do not approve of me, they approve of the money and power that comes with my name. I would rather face being disowned than marry into those vultures," He snapped.  
  
"That may very well be the case if you continue to rebel against your Father. You know how he is. He was disappointed when you were unable to attend the Dark Revel that was on your birthday. That was to be your initiation. It is dangerous to disappoint your father. You were lucky that you were so ill. Nothing short of your deathbed would have curbed his anger!"  
  
"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you suddenly care for me? Where have you been for my entire life? You've drowned your sorrows in wine and jewelry and wealth. Don't request my respect or my love for you. I want none of you. I'm done with you," His words were cold as he stood from his chair and quickly walked out of the solarium, leaving his mother in a very stunned state.  
  
He ran through the corridors and didn't stop running until he reached his chambers. His chest rose and fell in rapid succession as he pulled open his door and stumbled into his room. He was shocked with himself. He'd never expressed his bitterness to anyone other than Severus before. What had made him say those things to his mother? He was in shock at his strange behavior.  
  
After a few moments his breathing returned to normal. He decided to take a quick shower before facing his father at lunch. He went to the wardrobe and pulled out a black sweater, a fresh pair of black slacks, socks, his soft black suede boots and a fresh pair of black silk boxers. He went to the door that was across from his wardrobe and opened it up to his bathroom. The floors and sink were black marble. The tub was a beautiful gold thing with clawed feet holding it up. The shower, his destination, had three walls of black marble, each with their own faucet that jet water at the perfect desired temperature, and the door of the shower was a stain glass mural of a dragon with two serpents coiled about it's powerful legs.  
  
Draco put his clothes on the black marble counter by the sink, undressed, and then entered the shower. He muttered the spell that turned on the taps and let out a long groan as the water hit his back, the warmth of the water succeeding in warming up his cold body. He put his hands against the marble wall and leaned his head down, feeling the water pounding the top of his head, massaging his scalp, and washing away the tension. His breath caught when he felt a pair of hands grab his waist and spin him around.  
  
He gasped as his silver eyes met bright green ones. He took a step back. Unfortunately this led to him being pressed against the marble wall of his shower. The boy with the green eyes stepped forward, and Draco immediately noticed the boy's lack of dress as well as his own and felt his cheeks warm slightly in embarrassment. Draco's breath caught in his throat until he felt the boy's hand on his chest, and then the boy's other hand rose to his cheek. Draco leaned his face into the caress, and then blinked. The boy was suddenly gone and Draco had a problem.  
  
He looked down at himself and shook his head. "Oh hell! What was that about? How? Was it some fantasy? I've never had one quite so real before."  
  
Soon he had his problem taken care of and then he washed his body and his hair quickly. He used the counter spell to turn off the faucet and then a drying spell. He stepped out of the shower, pulled on his boxers followed by his socks, and then his trousers, which he tucked into his black boots. He pulled on the black sweater and then ran a hand carelessly through his shoulder length platinum blond hair.  
  
He wiped the steam from the mirror and stared at his reflection. When was it going to change? When was he going to give up on this infatuation he had with Potter? The fantasies had started toward the end of fourth year, and they only got worse through the hours, days, months, years that followed. Why couldn't he just be normal and fancy girls the way a Malfoy was supposed to? Why did he have to be different?  
  
"Damn it!" He yelled and then brought his fist down hard on the black marble of the counter. He shook his hand out and then brushed his teeth. Once he rinsed his mouth out he looked up at his reflection again and smirked. "You're one handsome bastard Malfoy, too bad the girls have to miss out on you."  
  
He shook himself and then sighed. "I shouldn't say those things. Even the walls here have ears."  
  
Draco left his bathroom, then his chambers and walked leisurely through the corridors until he reached the dining hall. He looked at the long table with a raised eyebrow and a sneer and then took his usual seat on the right next to his father who was at the head of the table. He looked up to see his mother take her place at the foot of the table and tilt her head in acknowledgement of her son and her husband. Soon lunch was served and the meal commenced in silence. Most meals in the Malfoy household were held in silence.  
  
When the meal was complete, Lucius pulled Draco aside and led him to the library. Draco had no other choice than to follow his father. Draco looked around his father's library and a chill ran up his spine. His father took a seat behind his desk and beckoned Draco to take one of the chairs before the desk. Obviously something had changed. According to his father they were supposed to be having this chat after dinner, not after lunch.  
  
"Father? What is this about? Have I done something?" he asked nervously.  
  
Lucius raised an eyebrow at the question. "Is your inquiry evident of some wrong doing of yours, boy? Are you feeling guilty? Care to confess to your father?"  
  
"I have done nothing that I know of," Draco answered honestly and then shrugged.  
  
"All right then," Lucius said and then smirked and began a new line of questioning. "Where did that trinket around your neck come from? Have you an admirer of some sort at school? Have you found a suitable partner?"  
  
"Partner?"  
  
"Well I have noticed your complete disinterest in girls has continued, so I must assume that such a gift would be from a male admirer as opposed to a female one." Lucius' eyes glowed in victory at the expression on his son's face. It wasn't too often that he could get one up on the boy.  
  
"If this is about your arrangements with the Parkinsons..." Draco trailed realizing how close he'd come to defying his father.  
  
His father's eyes seemed to flow like storm clouds during a hurricane. "You will produce an heir! You are a Malfoy and the name will not die with you boy! You either find a suitable girl on your own or you will marry the Parkinson girl. As for your little boyfriend, what you do is your business. Just be discreet, the name Malfoy is a respectable one, and will remain so."  
  
"I do not have a boyfriend!" The words left Draco's lips before he could clamp his hand over his mouth.  
  
"Oh, are you calling him your lover? I know Severus didn't send you that little moonstone, he does not deal in jewelry, so it had to be someone familiar with your sleeping habits!" Lucius growled and then glared at his son. "Out of my sight boy, as for our meeting this evening, consider it over. Moonstone is a sentimental stone. Probably from Potter. How dare you come home with this shame? You will take the Dark Mark in three days time and you will forget your little Potter!"  
  
"Or what?" Draco challenged and then spat, "There is nothing between me and Potter!"  
  
Lucius' head snapped up in anger. "The walls tell me no lies boy! Do you always see him when you're in the shower?!"  
  
"You have the walls in my bathroom spying for you father?!" Draco's eyes widened in horror.  
  
"Of course! This is my home and I know everything that goes on within its walls!" Lucius snarled. "So you want to fall in love? You will never be me, boy! And I never asked for a son like you. I told you to make me proud. Boy! You have failed me!"  
  
"And you have failed me Father!" Draco spat and with that he got up and walked out of the door.  
  
He slammed the door shut behind him as he heard his father angrily shout, "You do not walk away from me!"  
  
Draco returned to his chambers and warded his rooms so that no one would disturb him, although if his father really wanted to see him he could easily get through the wards. He threw himself on his bed and sighed. How much did his father know? How much could he possibly know? He knew he shouldn't have let his emotions get the better of him, at least not while he was at home. He'd messed up, he'd been weak in his father's presence.  
  
Exhaustion hit him hard as he fought with the inner turmoil. He was dragged into sleep almost against his will, and the harder he fought the hotter the stone against his chest became. Draco was thrown into the dream before he could even protest. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the girl. Despite his preference, he had to admit that she was beautiful. He looked at her closely for the first time and it was as though he were looking in a mirror. She was his reflection, except her features were softer, more feminine. Then their eyes locked and his heart stopped cold. He was looking into her eyes, but they were his eyes.  
  
He broke away from her gaze and turned to look around him. They were on the Hogwarts grounds by the lake and near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He quickly glanced at her and noticed the direction she'd turned her gaze upon. He followed her stare and saw the back of the dark haired boy as he walked away. There was something familiar about the boy, and he felt a pang in his chest. He knew who it was. He was staring at the back of Harry Potter.  
  
"I can't even escape him in my dreams," Draco snapped and this caught the attention of the girl with his eyes.  
  
She looked at him and her sad expression softened a bit, as she opened her mouth and the most beautiful voice he'd every heard escaped her lips. "And you will never escape him."  
  
Her words were spoken with the hum of elemental energy, a cool pure creek flowing over sleek facetted crystals. Draco looked at the girl in wonder, recognizing himself and yet seeing someone completely different in her face.  
  
She smiled at him then. And his breath was taken away.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.  
  
"You," she answered and then her hand reached up to gently caress his cheek, and then she ran her slender fingers down his jaw and her eyes sparkled. "You will have this one wish, and you gain your freedom. But it will be up to you in how you use your freedom. This wish cannot grant you love. You must find that on your own, but your freedom is yours. Use this gift wisely."  
  
The girl then let her hand drift down his throat until her fingers found the delicate silver chain. She took the stone in her hand and clutched it as though it were a lifeline. She then leaned into Draco and their lips met softly in a chaste kiss. His eyes were closed. She removed her lips as quickly as she'd initiated the kiss.  
  
"Your dreams are your wish, and using the stone of dreams and wishes you shall have it, but you only get this one wish and it cannot be undone," she paused. "Will you really give up everything for freedom, for the chance to live? For the chance to love?"  
  
Draco ran his tongue sensuously across his lips, his eyes clouded over in desire. "Yes, anything."  
  
"Then awake to your new destiny," she whispered and then he was being ripped from the dream, from the girl's soft words and soft fingers.  
  
He awoke with a start and felt strange and dizzy. He sat up in bed groaned, clutching at his head as though he were hung over. He heard his door rattling and fear quickly chased away the dizziness. He looked in horror as his father burst into the room. How long had he been working on those wards?  
  
His father stopped dead in the doorway and stared at him. Draco looked at him in fear and curiosity. Why wasn't his father advancing?  
  
"Who are you and where is my son?" Lucius demanded.  
  
Draco looked at his father as though the man had gone crazy. "What are you talking about? I'm right here..."  
  
Draco's eyes widened in terror. That wasn't his voice. His voice didn't hum with elemental energy, it did not sound like a cool pure creek flowing over sleek facetted crystals, it did not sound feminine. He opened his mouth again and the voice fell from his lips as he said, "Father?"  
  
Lucius' eyes widened in shock. "Draco? What? How? You foolish boy! What have you done?! It can't be. You're just some girl my son has picked up. A very lovely girl, probably a Veela. Tell me where he is..." Lucius' voice suddenly quit working as he noticed what the girl was wearing. "Why do you have his clothes on?"  
  
"Father, it's me. I am Draco! You think I'm in love with Potter and you said you never asked for a son like me!"  
  
Lucius' eyes flashed into a furious storm of rage. "You have defied me for the last time! And for Potter! You are not my son. I have no son!"  
  
With that Lucius raised his wand and then aimed it at the girl that was on his son's bed. The girl's eyes widened as she stared at the enraged man. The girl quickly raised her hand and said, "Accio wand!" followed by "Accio book!" and then she disapparated before Lucius could come up with a curse to hurl at her.  
  
The girl found herself at the gates of Hogwarts. She shivered and regretted not thinking of summoning a cloak as well. It was too late to go back. She could never go back. She swallowed thickly, one hand had a firm grip on her wand, and the other clung to the journal that was a gift from Severus. Yes, that was why she was at Hogwarts. She had to find Severus, he was after all her, Draco's, godfather.  
  
She made her way to the entrance of the school and then raced down to the dungeons. She found the wall, tapped the bricks, and muttered the spell that revealed the door to Severus Snape's chambers. She tried the password, but it had obviously been changed. Sighing she began to bang frantically on the door. Within a few minutes, a lot of grumbling could be heard and the door was snatched opened by a very irate Severus Snape.  
  
Snape looked down at the girl that stood before his door and raised his eyebrow in curiosity. Who was this strange girl and how did she know the location of his chambers? And why did she look so damn familiar? And why was she dressed up in clothing that was too big and in a man's boots?  
  
"Who are you and what do you want?" Snape said in a bored monotone.  
  
"Uncle Sev? Father went mad. He said I was dead to him and he was going to kill me. I don't know what's happened, but I sound different and I can't..." the girl said and then a sob escaped her throat.  
  
Snape's mouth fell open. He quickly closed it and ushered the girl into his chamber. The girl had noticed the man's reaction and couldn't resist the smirk.  
  
"Draco?" Snape asked as he fell back into one of the dark green winged back chairs by his hearth.  
  
At least the sobs had died down as the girl sat down in the chair across from Severus.  
  
"Yes?" she asked timidly.  
  
"Oh gods! What happened to you boy? How did this happen?"  
  
"How did what happen? Why is my voice different and what is wrong with me?" Draco said in a panic.  
  
Snape's eyes widened in surprise again. He noticed the girl sitting in the chair, she'd put the wand she'd been holding down on the end table by the chair, but she still held fast to a familiar brown leather bound book. It was a journal, his gift to Draco. That was how he'd been sure that it was Draco at his door, that and the girl had called him Uncle Sev, only Draco had ever been brave enough to do that.  
  
"You mean you don't know? Have you looked in the mirror, or at the very least looked down? Haven't you noticed anything missing?" Snape said indicating his chest and lower region.  
  
The girl looked at him in confusion and then realization dawned as her face drain of color. "Oh, no. Gods no!"  
  
She rushed from the chair, dropping the book to the floor, and found herself in Snape's bathroom. A few minutes later she screamed and Severus ran into the bathroom, barely in time to catch her as she fell into unconsciousness.  
  
Severus Snape sighed and looked skyward, wondering what sin he was being punished for this time as he hefted the girl into his arms and began the long trek to the hospital wing. He gave the door a swift kick and a few minutes later was met with an irate glare from Poppy Pomfrey, Hogwarts' very own mediwitch, but the witch's expression quickly softened at the sight of the unconscious girl in Severus Snape's arms.  
  
"Oh, sweet Merlin! What happened Severus? Who is she and where did she come from?" Poppy asked immediately and told him to set the girl on one of the cots in the infirmary.  
  
Severus looked at the witch with his cold black eyes. "I can't disclose that information just yet until I know the whole story. Something is amiss here and I am not saying anything until I speak with Albus. Now do what you can for her, and if she says anything about the Malfoys or me, take no heed. Just find me."  
  
"What has she to do with the Malfoys? Is this something about Draco Malfoy, or Lucius?" she asked in suspicion and then looked at the girl, and with a start saw how much the girl looked like Draco. She looked back up at Severus and asked again. "Who is this girl?"  
  
"She is my goddaughter, and that is all you need to know for now. So take care of her until I get back!" Snape snapped and with that he left the hospital wing and headed toward the headmaster's office.  
  
Madam Pomfrey shook her head and then returned her gaze to the strange girl that was now her patient. She began to remove the boots from the girl's feet and noticed how they were too large for her, in fact, all of the girl's clothing was too large for her. It was as though she was wearing boy's clothes.  
  
The mediwitch did a quick examination and finding that the girl was in good physical condition allowed her to keep on the oversized trousers and sweater. The girl probably had a great shock. She suspected that the girl had fainted. It's probably best to let her wake on her own, the mediwitch thought.  
  
As if the girl were responding to Madam Pomfrey's thoughts, she shot up on the back and looked around her frantically. She saw Madam Pomfrey and her breathing slowed for a moment.  
  
"What..." the girl began and then stopped and grabbed her throat, and seemed shocked as her hands clutched at her throat and then rose to her face, tracing over her every detail as though her face and body were new to her. Then the girl looked down and her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She patted her chest with her hands as though she'd never seen her own breasts before and then began to pat at her crotch and a scream tore from her throat. The girl brought her knees up to her chin and began to rock back and forth.  
  
Poppy watched the girl in mute fascination, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She gently put a hand on the girl's back in hopes of providing comfort and noticed the girl wince and shy away from her touch. The mediwitch sighed and then shook her head. The poor dear had gone through quite an ordeal. She would have a great deal of questions for Severus later, but until then...  
  
Poppy looked down at the girl and shook her head. "There, there. Whatever has happened to you is over now. You're safe here. You're at Hogwarts and nothing bad can enter these grounds."  
  
The girl's head snapped up, and her gray eyes met the soft kind eyes of the mediwitch, and the mediwitch felt a shiver go up her spine as the girl's elemental voice filled the air. "I know I'm safe here. I've been going to this school for the past six and a half years. Why else would I return here if it wasn't for sanctuary? Now, kindly let me go and direct me to the nearest girl's facilities."  
  
The mediwitch shook her head at the audacity of the girl and wondered why she couldn't recall having seen this girl, yet she seemed so familiar. "The facilities you are looking for is located behind the door on the right, next to my office, and when you are finished, you are to return to this bed until Sev... Professor Snape comes to collect you."  
  
The girl rolled her eyes and hopped off of the bed and went into the door the mediwitch had indicated. She gazed into the mirror and shook her head in disbelief. The reflection showed a beautiful girl with long platinum blonde hair trailing past her shoulders and ending in waves at her waist, her eyes were gray, and she had a nice figure, well rounded breasts, tapered waist, long legs. The reflection was hypnotic, and the voice that went with the reflection. It was like the girl was a living breathing love spell.  
  
Draco sighed and hit the sink with his fist. He had become the girl from his dream. She'd kissed him and said that he would get one wish, and that the dream was his wish. He hadn't ever thought of being a girl before, and although he was a very attractive girl, he missed his old body, and he had the most uncomfortable pressure in his bladder. He groaned and then headed toward the toilet.  
  
"The indignity of it all. Having to sit on the toilet like a girl just to take a piss. This is bloody degrading!" He complained, and again he was amazed at the elemental melodies that comprised his new voice.  
  
Once he was relieved he quickly pulled up the boxers and refastened his trousers, noticing that his clothes were too big for him, and that someone had removed his boots. He washed his hands and then took stock of his appearance in the mirror. He shook his head. Damn he was shorter, tall for most girls, but about a good eight inches shorter than he had been. His entire body shape was different. Where he'd once been broad shouldered and lean, he was now lithe and curvy. He shook his head again, trying to take it all in.  
  
What was he going to do? How was he going to continue going to Hogwarts? Where would he go when he left school? How long was the spell going to last? He knew the last answer. The girl in the dream had said it could not be undone. He would be a girl, a woman, for the rest of his life.  
  
"Damn it all! How in the bloody hell did this happen?" he asked and then his eyes noticed the glinting of a delicate silver chain around his, no her throat.  
  
Draco grabbed the chain and pulled it out from under the sweater and glared at the stone that was clutched in the silver falcon's claw. He knew how it happened now. The girl had mentioned something about a stone of wishes and dreams. She'd held it in her hand as she'd kissed him and then told him to awake to his new destiny. He wanted to rip the foul pendant from his neck, but found that he couldn't, because as much as he was unsure of this new twist of fate, he had to admit that he did have his wish... He'd been given his freedom, because there was no going back to Malfoy Manor. In fact, he was no longer a Malfoy...  
  
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Severus stopped at the gargoyle that led to the headmaster's office. He looked at the thing disdainfully and muttered, "Bubblicious." Snape rolled his eyes as the gargoyle moved to reveal a spiral stairwell. He grumbled all the way up to the headmaster's office, gave a knock for courtesy and then entered the office.  
  
"Ah, Severus," said the headmaster as he looked up from his desk and then held out a candy dish. "Care to try one of these ever lasting gobstoppers? The red ones are my favorite. Perhaps you would prefer the green?"  
  
Severus sent an icy glare the headmaster's way and said, "Another time, Albus. Right now we have a situation concerning Draco Malfoy."  
  
"Oh?" the headmaster asked a twinkle in his eye and then grinned. His beard shuffled to accommodate the wide grin on his old face. "It wouldn't have anything to do with the young lady that appeared at the front gates and immediately ran to your chambers now would it? I must admit she is certainly a lovely girl."  
  
"That young lady, as you so delicately put it, is none other than Draco Malfoy!" Snape snapped.  
  
At this the twinkle left the headmaster's eyes. "Oh, dear. I do believe I acted too hastily this once. I had no idea that something like this would happen. I assumed the girl was a Veela, and someone that Mr. Malfoy may have been dating on the sly. The boy has been acting strange for quite sometime. I didn't think the stone would change him. I only thought it would help him to sleep."  
  
Snape's head snapped up as he stared at the headmaster with his mouth hanging open.  
  
"Are you trying to catch flies my boy?" Albus asked him.  
  
"What stone, Albus? Are you responsible for this?" Severus asked, and hoped that he'd come to the wrong conclusion.  
  
The headmaster sighed and looked tired beyond his one hundred and thirty odd years. "I sent our young Mr. Malfoy a gift. I thought of giving him socks as I give all of my students, but this time was a special occasion. The boy has never known freedom, and well I don't know what I was thinking. I gave him a wishing stone. It was originally a moonstone to help ease it's wearer into sleep if they needed it. However the particular pendant I sent him was special. If it's wearer desired something with every ounce of their heart then they are taken to a place in their dream, and they are given a glimpse of their wish. There a reflection of the dreamer asks the dreamer if they want this new destiny. If the dreamer still desires the wish then it is granted."  
  
"You are saying that Draco Malfoy wished to be a girl?" Snape asked incredulously.  
  
Albus shook his head. "No, I'm saying that the girl must have been his reflection. You see the dreamer takes on the appearance of their reflection and then when they awake their wish is granted. I have an idea as to what he might have wished for, and I believe he got it in the most cruelest of displays, if I am correct in my assumption. We must protect him from his father."  
  
"Yes, we have to keep the boy safe. I'm sure Lucius is out of his head in a fury. How do we keep the boy safe and how do we keep all of this a secret until it can be undone?" Snape asked.  
  
"There in lies our problem, Severus. The wish once granted cannot be undone. Suffice to say our young Mr. Malfoy will now forever remain a Ms. Malfoy. No magic can undo the power of a wishing stone, and no other stone can reverse this wish. I am sorry. I think we can come up with a solution. I suggest a new identity for Draco and a resorting. We will enroll him as an exchange student. The resorting is to take place here, as soon as you go to collect Draco and bring him here," Albus said and then looked at Severus over his spectacles. "And, be delicate Severus. This is going to be hard on the boy. His body has changed, and we have no idea what his current emotional state is. On the outside he is a young woman, but on the inside he is still Draco."  
  
"How could you meddle so much? The boy has had a hard life. Look at who his bloody father is, and you do this to him! Albus, if I thought I could get away with it I would do an unforgivable right now!" Snape snarled.  
  
"I won't say that I deserve any less. I am sorry. And Severus, I assume that you plan to take care of the boy, as you are his godfather," Albus continued softly.  
  
Snape glared at the old man, for once truly angry with the old meddler. "Of course I will. I'm all he has now. No doubt his father disowned him. He said Lucius tried to kill him and the boy does not exaggerate over serious matters such as these. You've gone too far this time, Albus. You've gone too far."  
  
The old man looked at his hands and shook his head in sorrow and regret as he spoke softly, "I know I have, and it is most regrettable. I never thought you cared so much for the boy though."  
  
"You never show your weaknesses in my line of work. Caring can be used against you. The boy has shared confidences with me. He obviously trusts me, and he's the closest family I've had since my mother passed on," Severus spoke softly, his voice barely above a sigh. "I suppose I have you to thank as well."  
  
Albus Dumbledore sat back in his chair and looked at the younger man in surprise as he asked, "For what?"  
  
"He will not become a Deatheater as I feared. You see before he went home I poisoned him, not enough to do any real harm, so that he would miss the Dark Revel on his birthday. Now that Lucius has lost his power over Draco, he won't make the same mistake I did. You saved him from that much, although if he knew you were responsible for all of this, I doubt he would be overly grateful. I won't tell him that this was your doing. He needs to adjust first," Severus said.  
  
Dumbledore inclined his head. "Thank you for your discretion and your compliance in this situation.  
  
"I may help you, but I am doing this for Draco. Make no mistake of my intentions. You screwed up, and I never thought I would say that about you, but we all make mistakes. I just wish this didn't concern someone other than you or myself."  
  
With that Severus left the headmaster's office and headed back towards the hospital wing to retrieve Draco. He didn't hear the headmaster reply, "So do I, Severus. So do I." 


	2. Two: The Newest Gryffindor

Two: The Newest Gryffindor  
  
Severus left the headmaster's office angrier than he had been in a long time. How dare that old man interfere in the lives of the young? He had to admit he was grateful for one thing. At least Malfoy was no longer destined to become a Deatheater. Still that old meddler had gone too far this time. He'd altered the poor boy's entire existence. How could someone who'd spent the last eighteen years of their life as a boy and a young man suddenly come to terms with waking up as a woman? And this was something that could not be undone. This was permanent.  
  
Severus reached his destination sooner than he'd expected. And now he was nervous. How could he face that boy locked within a girl's body? How could he explain to the proud Draco Malfoy that there was no undoing this injustice? Draco Malfoy would have to endure the rest of his life as a woman. Snape took a deep breath, steeled himself, and then opened the door of the infirmary. He saw an exasperated Poppy Pomfrey in her office, and looked at the cot where he'd placed Draco earlier. The girl, that was Draco Malfoy, was missing.  
  
"POPPY!" Severus' voice exploded throughout the infirmary.  
  
The mediwitch jumped out of her reverie and left her office to see what was going on now. She frowned at Severus' display and then reminded him that he was in the hospital wing, but he was hardly listening to her as he questioned the whereabouts of his charge. Poppy pointed to the door next to her office that was the girl's facilities.  
  
Severus went to the door and tapped on it softly, then shook his head, and gave the door a good sound rap. When he got no answer he said, "Damn it, Draco, you either answer me or I'm coming in there to get you, no matter what your current state may be!"  
  
"In a bloody minute, slimy git," a soft melodic voice answered, and Severus decided under the particular circumstances to let the insult slide.  
  
Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened. "You mean that girl is Draco Malfoy?!"  
  
Severus shook his head and realized his mistake. "Yes, and that is all you need to know. And you are not to tell anyone. Do you understand? I assume that Dumbledore would have filled you in on this at a more appropriate time, but this is as good a time as any, so you know. Only myself, you, and Albus know about this, and Albus and I intend to keep it that way."  
  
"Was it a Polyjuice incident?" she asked dumbfounded as she realized why the girl had seemed so familiar.  
  
"No, it is more serious and permanent than that."  
  
"Oh, no. You mean he will... She will..."  
  
"Oh spit it out Poppy. I've never seen you so speechless before. Yes, he will be trapped in that body for the rest of his life. There is no undoing this," Severus answered in irritation.  
  
Just then Draco stepped out of the bathroom and glared at Severus. "You know you don't have to talk about me like I'm not here. The door isn't sound proof I heard every word. And I already know this is permanent. She said it would be. All I wanted was freedom from the responsibility of everything. Look what I got stuck with."  
  
"There are worse things that could have happened," Severus offered and then felt like kicking himself as he realized he was being insensitive. Oh what the poor boy must be thinking.  
  
Draco looked at him and let out a dry laugh. "Oh really? What's worse than having my own father try to kill me for something that is not my fault? If I find out who sent me this bloody stone!"  
  
"You still have it?" Severus was surprised.  
  
Draco tugged the pendant out from under his sweater and showed it to Severus Snape and Madam Pomfrey. "Yes, and I assume this is partly responsible for my 'new destiny'."  
  
The boy definitely sounded bitter, especially with his words coming from the mouth of such a beautiful girl, and being shaped by the alien voice that was woven of elemental magic and sounded like pure water flowing over river stones in a rush. Severus had never heard a voice so enchanting or powerful. He shook himself and then looked closely into the eyes of Draco Malfoy. At least his eyes were still the same.  
  
"Ready to face the headmaster? We've come up with a way to keep you in school, but you will have to be resorted," Severus said.  
  
Draco nodded and then sighed as he pulled the trousers up around him and held them in place. "Fine, as long as I get to stay in school. I would also like to know what will happen to me upon graduation. But I have an immediate problem at the moment. I seem to have left my wand in your rooms and I would certainly appreciate some clothes that perhaps...fit."  
  
"Oh of course dear," Poppy piped up and then smiled as she transfigured Draco's trousers into a black knee length skirt and smiled brightly.  
  
Draco scowled at the woman. "You do realize that this is a castle, and there are breezes in castles?"  
  
Severus bit back the laughter that was building in him. "You asked for clothing that fit. You did not specify comfort or practicality, and your legs aren't half bad. Now let's get a move on, and remember to cross your legs when you sit down. You're to be a proper young lady now."  
  
"You're enjoying this far too much, Uncle Sev," Draco growled.  
  
Draco shook his head and sighed. He then took his newly resized boots that Madam Pomfrey held out to him and put them on. At least she hadn't transfigured them into heels. He slipped the dainty feet into them and then began to stalk off after Severus as he began the walk to the headmaster's office.  
  
Unfortunately luck was not on their side. Before they reached the gargoyle fate and a pair of Gryffindors caught up with them. Draco was following Severus, not really paying attention to where he was going when he walked into something with such force that he fell backwards almost instantly from impact. He landed on his rear and then glared up at what he'd walked into. His eyes widened momentarily as they met green eyes behind a pair of glasses. The boy held out his hand to help him up, but Draco waved it away and got up on his own, brushing the back of his skirt off and wincing at his smarting rear.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry. I should have been watching where I was going," the dark haired boy with the glasses said.  
  
"Honestly, Potter, you would think with your terrible run of luck you would have better sense to pay attention to your course as well as your destination, and Weasley quit bloody gawking!" Draco snapped, and then remembered he was a girl.  
  
The two boys looked at him with wide eyes and curiosity. Snape stalked back to the scene, looked at Draco and then glared at the two dumbfounded Gryffindors. Snape shook his head and wondered about the injustice of the world and he grabbed Draco's arm and looked at the Gryffindors.  
  
"Potter, Weasley, as you were, off with you before I start taking points!" Snape snapped.  
  
The two took the hint and with a few glances back went on their way, although Snape and Draco heard Weasley say, "Who was that girl, how does she know Snape, and how did she know us? I could understand her knowing you, but how did she know me?"  
  
Draco could almost picture the smile on Potter's face as he replied, "The red hair is a dead give away Ron."  
  
Once the boys were out of earshot Snape leaned down to Draco and hissed in his ear, "You must be careful now in your current state. Do you want to give yourself away? Weasley might be thick, but Potter is clever, and have you forgotten Granger? She will be returning from holiday soon!"  
  
"Let's just go see the headmaster and see what can be done about this mess, I'm tired and would like to go to my new dorm so that I can sleep for a week," Draco said with a sigh.  
  
With that, the odd looking pair continued on their way. Draco smirked at witnessing Severus Snape feared Potions Master scowl at having to say "Bubblicious." Snape shook his head at the humiliation and then led the way up the stairs, knocked once at the door, and then walked in. Draco followed his lead and noticed the headmaster sitting in the chair behind the desk in the large round office.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, I do believe I have come up with a solution to your problem. You are to be resorted, but that will be in a few moments. First we must see to giving you a new name. Do you have any in mind?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
Draco shook his head and was surprised when Severus Snape spoke up. "I was thinking about it while going to retrieve you, and I came up with a name. Being rather fond of mythology I think the name of the Roman Goddess of the moon, Diana would be suitable, and knowing young Malfoy's fondness for certain muggle literature, I feel that Marlowe would be a suitable surname."  
  
"What a lovely suggestion Severus, however, Draco, it is your decision," Dumbledore said.  
  
Draco shrugged. "It's nice. Thank you Uncle Sev. I appreciate the gesture. Now that I have a name, lets get to the housing part please. I'm really tired, and once I fall into a bed I do not wish to be disturbed for a week."  
  
"Well, Ms. Marlowe, your arrival to Hogwarts will be announced this evening at dinner which is coincidentally in fifteen minutes. My how time has flown today. As to your housing arrangements, I hope you don't mind the dust on the sorting hat. As we were not expecting an exchange student it has not been properly prepared for use," Dumbledore said with a sigh and a twinkle in his eye.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes and sat down as Dumbledore fetched the hat from its place on the shelf across from the headmaster's desk and then put the hat on Draco's head. After a few moments of the hat's grumbling about being rudely awaken it got to work. It stayed on Draco's head a long time and finally came to its decision.  
  
"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted and both Draco and Severus Snape paled visibly.  
  
"I demand a resorting! I can't be put into Gryffindor! They would eat me alive!" Draco snapped.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at an alarming rate. "I am sorry, but you have been resorted and the hat's decision cannot be questioned. I will see to your things being moved to the seventh year girls' dormitory in Gryffindor, and I'm sure that Severus will see about arranging a suitable wardrobe for you, both of casual wear and school wear. Now, that is all Ms. Marlowe, I expect to see you at dinner in a few minutes. And Severus my boy, do close your mouth, flies are out of season so late in the day."  
  
With that Draco was dismissed. He shook his head and hardly believed what had happened to him in the course of a day. He'd gone from being a handsome Slytherin, to being a beautiful girl stuck in Gryffindor with Scarhead and a smitten Weasel. Luck was no longer in his favor. Draco fingered the stone that was under his black sweater. He sighed and decided to head for Great Hall and await dinner since he wasn't quite sure of the whereabouts of Gryffindor tower. Before he reached the door however he felt something velvet being placed on his shoulders. He looked up to see Severus Snape with a black cloak in his hands.  
  
Draco looked up gratefully then fastened the cloak about his throat, and drew the hood over his head. He pulled the cloak closer around him and then walked down the spiral stairwell and into Great Hall where he grudgingly took a seat at the Gryffindor table. A few students were in the room. A couple of second year Ravenclaws were playing wizard chess, and there were various students of various years scattered about Great Hall. And all eyes immediately went to the cloaked figure that entered the Hall.  
  
After a small eternity Draco was joined by the inestimable Harry Potter on his right followed by Weasley who sat across from him. Draco let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and then Dumbledore entered Great Hall, followed by Snape.  
  
Dumbledore looked extra twinkly tonight. He looked out at the students and his gaze finally rested on the cloaked figure who was flanked by both Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Snape felt the urge to go over and protect Draco, but he knew that was impossible.  
  
Dumbledore finally cleared his throat and began to speak. "As you have noticed there is someone new among us. I would like to be the first to announce that Hogwarts has received a seventh year transfer student today, and her sorting took place in my office. I would like you all to give a warm welcome to our newest Gryffindor, Ms. Diana Marlowe. Please rise Ms. Marlowe and greet your fellow students. I am sorry that not all of our students are here to greet you, however they have taken advantage of holiday leave."  
  
Draco groaned and then stood up, plastering a smile to his face. He withdrew the hood and looked around noticing the mouths of most of the male student body present, falling opened. Draco then unfastened the cloak and folded it up to sit it beside him and noticed how the boys with their mouths hanging open shifted in their seats. Draco couldn't help the smirk on his face as he resumed his seat.  
  
Dumbledore went on to make a few more announcements and then the food appeared on the table. Roast beef, mince pie, mashed potatoes, maize, raspberry tarts and pumpkin juice appeared on the table, and Draco finally realized how hungry he was. He soon sat before a plate with a hearty helping of everything in sight. Ron and Harry looked at him in amazement.  
  
"Bloody hell! You eat as much as me!" Ron said.  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow at him. "And is there something wrong with a girl who has a healthy appetite, Weasley?"  
  
Ron winced at the use of his last name. Draco looked at him curiously and then Harry leaned over to him. Draco's breath stilled as he felt Harry's breath on his neck.  
  
"I'm Harry, and this is Ron. I'm not sure how you knew who we were unless Snape told you. Um, Diana is it, care to chat or just enjoy our company feel free to seek us out. We're always available and friendly," Harry said and then green eyes looked in gray. Harry looked at Draco curiously and then shook himself. "I'm sorry, but do I know you? I feel as though we've met before. There is something familiar about you, and how do you know Snape?"  
  
"We may have met in another life." Draco couldn't help the dry laugh at his comment, and then he sobered enough to continue, "Snape, as you call him, is my godfather. I had a bit of a falling out with my father, and so I was removed from the family. He has kindly taken me in, and made arrangements for me to attend Hogwarts. Of course I would rather not discuss my family history over such a lovely meal, especially since I haven't eaten since lunch time, and that seems to have been days ago, rather than hours."  
  
Ron nearly choked on the idea of Snape being anyone's godparent, and Harry gave him a cursory glance. Still Draco had a nice conversation with two over dinner, they talked about Quidditch, both boys were surprised to note that 'Diana' was so knowledgeable in the subject, and then to lighten up the mood Harry and Ron began to tell stories of their adventures. 'Diana' was especially curious to note that they had visited the Slytherin common room during their second year with the aid of a Polyjuice potion. That's why Goyle had glasses and he and Crabbe were acting so strangely that day, Draco thought to himself.  
  
Finally the boys and the 'new girl' were full as were the rest of the students and the food was cleared away and the students dismissed to their common room. Draco followed Harry and Ron to the portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. They muttered the password, "Greasy haired git," and then the portrait swung out and the three entered the portrait hole.  
  
"I wonder who came up with that password. I do hope Uncle Sev doesn't know it, or learn of it," Draco commented as he took in the Gryffindor common room with its gold and scarlet colors.  
  
He noticed the expressions on Harry's and Ron's faces. "What?"  
  
"You said Uncle Sev. Were you referring to Snape?" Ron asked incredulously.  
  
Draco nodded with a snort of laughter. "Of course. But I am the only one allowed to call him that. He finds it demeaning, however, secretly I think he finds it endearing, although the crass old bat would never admit it. He's not so bad. He's done more for me today than I could ever possibly have hoped or asked of anyone. It seems that he is the only person who does not see me as a disappointment."  
  
"You mentioned something about your father earlier," Harry said hesitantly and then added, "We're here to listen if you ever want to talk. And we're Gryffindors. We stick together, loyalty and all that. If you tell us anything we wouldn't breathe a word."  
  
"Thank you, but I've had a hard day. I doubt you would want to hear horror stories about my father finding me a disappointment and then attempting to remedy it with the killing curse," Draco said and then sighed.  
  
"Bloody hell, that sounds like something a Malfoy would do," Ron said and then looked closely at Draco. "You look kind of like a Malfoy, must be the gray eyes. You seem too nice to be a Malfoy though, and you've been sorted into Gryffindor, no Malfoy alive would end up here."  
  
Draco chuckled, "You may be surprised, Ron."  
  
He had stumbled over the name, but the two boys didn't really seem to notice. Draco then took the opportunity to talk to the boys about himself. "So you two know a Malfoy?"  
  
The two boys looked at him and nodded their heads. Ron was the first to speak, "Yeah. We know one, Draco Malfoy. Little sod, always insulting me over my family and background, and look at him. He's lived, breathed, and shit the dark arts all his bloody life and dares to make fun of my background."  
  
Draco's eyes flashed in anger. "You shouldn't insult what you don't know or understand."  
  
Harry looked up at that comment. "Do you know him?"  
  
"Yes," Draco answered hesitantly. "And he's nothing like what you think."  
  
Both boys looked at Draco curiously, expecting him to go on. Draco sighed and knew he'd gone and opened Pandora's box. He walked toward the fireplace and took one of the four red plush wing back chairs. The two boys followed and looked at Draco, awaiting more.  
  
"Oh, fine." Draco sighed and then looked at the two boys. "You can't laugh at what I tell you, and you mustn't tell a soul. He wouldn't want it too widely known."  
  
The two boys looked at each other with a grin and then turned back to the girl that was sitting in the chair across from them. They wondered what she knew about Malfoy.  
  
"We won't tell, and we'll try not to laugh," Harry said.  
  
Draco looked skeptically at Ron, not knowing what was compelling him to tell them anything about himself, but he went on regardless. "All right, I'll tell you what I know, but first I want you to know that I never speak ill of the dead."  
  
"The dead?" the two boys asked simultaneously.  
  
Draco nodded, "Yes, he...died today, although you can't tell anyone that you know. It will come out eventually."  
  
"Oh my God, does Dumbledore know?" Harry asked.  
  
Draco nodded. "Yes, as does Uncle Sev. You see Severus was Draco's godfather too. I managed to escape, but Draco on the other hand, he was not as fortunate as I, but that is beside the point. He is free, as he always wanted. Now, do you want to know about him? All of the things that no one was ever to know?"  
  
The boys nodded eagerly.  
  
"Fine, but one laugh from you Weasley and story time is over," the girl said in her enchanting voice. Ron nodded and then the girl continued. "Draco had a hard childhood. He was a sickly child up until he was nearly ten years old. His father never really cared much for his apparent weakness and didn't really take much stock in him until he was ten. That was when the boy became useful, that was when his father began to groom him for the dark lord.  
  
"However Draco was not one to easily take and follow orders. He defied his father quite often and he paid the price every time. He was brought up to be a dutiful son after all. You see, he wanted no part in the Dark Lord's plans, and he certainly did not care to follow in his father's footsteps. That was an act. He really cared for art, and writing. Yes, writing was his passion.  
  
"The way he could twist words together, it was amazing. He only shared that part of himself with two people. Severus and myself. He was especially fond of poetry. He sketched a lot too. For some odd reason you two were his favorite subjects. He was especially fond of drawing portraits of you Harry. I think he tried to capture the beauty of your eyes and that scar of yours is rather intriguing.  
  
"I do have a copy of the last poem he ever wrote. It was about a dream he had. He was telling me about it. I actually have it memorized. I don't know if I should share it. It is rather personal," the girl finally said having finished her narration.  
  
Harry looked at her and then spoke, "I would like to hear it. I would also like to know why Malfoy would draw a portrait of me, but I suppose that is one thing I won't ever know. How do you know so much?"  
  
"Draco and I have always been close. You might say we grew up together," the girl answered.  
  
"Diana, are you related to him?" Ron asked.  
  
The girl, Draco, smiled and quirked an eyebrow. "One might almost say we are the same person."  
  
Ron's eyes widened at this and then Harry cut in, "Well, about the poem."  
  
"Oh, yes," Draco sighed and then took a deep breath as he took the plunge and began reciting:  
  
"Moonlight in her hair, a pale streaming river Down a back so fair, eyes of silver, Piercing, sharp, and ever so bold, For the dark haired one to behold. Yet his eyes are cast aside. How blind must he be?  
  
Beauty is at his back, yet he continues forth. What journey dare he undertake? His thirst for her, refuse he to slake? Turn back and look upon her in love. Bring her bliss; save her from the night in her heart, Give her Apollo's kiss..."  
  
The two boys looked at the girl sitting in the chair before them. The fire played gently on her silvery blonde hair, making it almost appear to be a molten gold. They were almost hypnotized as her voice wove the words into existence, almost as though she were casting a spell. When she spoke the last line the two startled, as though from a dream and looked at her.  
  
"Wow, Malfoy wrote that?" Ron asked.  
  
At her nod Harry spoke up again, "The girl, she could have been you."  
  
Draco took a deep breath. "She is me. Draco thought that if I ever met you that I would lose myself to you, Harry. As I said Draco and I were very close. He was afraid of losing himself...me, to you. You have so much Harry, friends and a family. He had wealth and power, but there was one thing he was most envious about Harry. You were free. You are always free. His freedom came at a price, and no one can ever know the truth about that price."  
  
Draco's voice shook at that last part. Tears rose in his gray eyes and he covered his face with his delicate hands to hide the emotional display. What was wrong with him? He'd just revealed a part of himself to Potty and the Weasel, and now he was breaking down and crying in front of them? Showing them his weaknesses?  
  
"What happened to him? To you? Tell us. Did you see it?" Harry asked and then put his arms around Draco, holding him against his warm body trying to comfort him. No, Draco thought. He's trying to comfort 'Diana'.  
  
Still Draco couldn't pull himself from Potter's strong warm arms. It didn't take long for him to collect himself and then he said, "I was the cause of it, and I can't tell you anymore. I am sorry."  
  
"Did you love him?" Ron asked.  
  
Draco nearly choked. "Love Draco? Yes, of course I did, but it's not what you think. Draco and I are two halves of the same person. He was the outside and I am the inside, and I did, do love him, but I was never in love with him. That would be rather narcissistic if I had been in love with him."  
  
Harry looked down curiously at the girl and Draco realized what he said. He felt heat rising to his cheeks.  
  
"I would never fancy myself in love with myself and if I had been in love with Draco it would have been like being in love with myself. It's hard to explain, and besides..." Draco trailed as he realized what he'd been about to reveal.  
  
"What?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"He wasn't much for girls," Draco answered quietly and felt warmth rise in his cheeks.  
  
Ron's mouth fell open. "You mean he fancied boys? But what about all those rumors of him and Pansy, and all the other girls."  
  
Draco blushed again. "None of it was true. The poor sod died a virgin. Oh, I really shouldn't have said that... You see he was waiting for the right person. He was actually waiting on..." Again Draco trailed off and then quickly looked at Harry. Ron was too dense to catch the look, but Harry caught it.  
  
Harry swallowed thickly. "You mean to tell me that Malfoy fancied me and was waiting around for me?"  
  
"He thought it was foolish, too. He actually thought you had a thing for the mud... I'm sorry, the muggle born, Granger. I was raised in that environment you understand. Sometimes old habits, however horrible they might be, are hard to break."  
  
"He's told you a lot," Ron said and then gave Harry a funny look.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes and said, "Don't look at me like that. We've already had that talk. Ever since I let it slip that I liked Malfoy and thought he was handsome you've given me those looks."  
  
The girl stiffened in Harry's arms. "You liked Draco?" she asked.  
  
It was Harry's turn to blush and blush he did. "Yes. You see I like both boys and girls. I never thought Malfoy might have a thing for me. And besides, like a Slytherin would really go for a stubborn chivalrous Gryffindor."  
  
"My, my, wonders never cease Potter, never thought the day would come when Potter would admit to liking the 'Slytherin Prince'," the girl said and then clapped a hand over her mouth.  
  
Draco shook himself and gazed in horror up at the calculating eyes of Harry and the bewildered eyes of Ron.  
  
"You sounded just like him. Are you sure there isn't something you care to tell us?" Harry asked.  
  
The girl nodded slowly and crossed her legs, much to the appreciation of one Ron Weasley. She looked over at Ron and then shook her head, taking note of the beginnings of an obvious crush. Dealing with Weasley was not going to be easy. And Harry was proving rather clever and tricky indeed. He would have made a damn good Slytherin.  
  
"Potter, Harry, did anyone ever tell you that you'd make one hell of a Slytherin?" the girl asked.  
  
Harry looked surprised by the question. He snorted and then answered. "The sorting hat almost put me into Slytherin, but I told it not to."  
  
She arched an eyebrow at that and shook her head, a smile on her face. Harry decided that he liked it when she smiled. She was certainly beautiful and there was something about her, some secret; some mystery to uncover. Harry wanted to know her, to solve her.  
  
She yawned and then stretched, her body arching into a most appealing pose. Ron's heart almost stopped, and Harry's breath caught in his throat. Both boys had to admit that the girl was beautiful, and her voice was hypnotic. She would be very popular.  
  
"I'm tired," she said and then began to head toward the steps. She hesitated on the first step and then turned to the boys.  
  
"Uh, goodnight," Ron said.  
  
Harry shook his head at Ron and then sighed. He soon joined 'Diana' by the stairs and smiled warmly at her. "I'm tired too. I think I'll join you, uh... Show you to the girl's dorm, and then I'll be off to bed myself.  
  
Draco let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you. I was almost certain that I was to be sleeping in the hall."  
  
Harry led her to the seventh year girls' dorm and then he pointed out the door to the girls' facilities and then turned to go to his own dorm. He couldn't help glancing back over his shoulder as he watched the strange girl open the girl's dorm and walk in, closing the door behind her and disappearing from his view.  
  
Harry soon found himself in the seventh year boys' dorm, joined by Ron. Ron kept glancing at Harry and finally let out a deep breath. Harry looked an Ron curiously.  
  
"What is it?" Harry finally asked.  
  
"That girl," Ron said, "Diana, there's something 'bout her. I don't know. She's beautiful and her voice. Wow, who has a voice like that? What I wouldn't do for a girl like that, but seems she took a liking to you Harry."  
  
"What?" Harry asked with a shake of his head and then continued. "Come on Ron, she's obviously been through a lot. And she's hiding something. Besides where has she been the past seven years? I mean what school has she been going to, if not Hogwarts? And how does she know Malfoy so well? She's a bit off, and she seems so damn familiar, I swear it."  
  
"You mean you've met her before and never told me?" Ron asked.  
  
"No." Harry sighed. "I just get this feeling, and that poem she recited, the one she said Malfoy wrote. The girl was her, but who was the guy? It sounded a bit like me. Do you think... No it's silly."  
  
"Are you saying Malfoy dreamed about you and Diana? That's suggesting an awful lot. Sure you're feeling all right Harry?"  
  
"I'm fine, just forget it. Let's go to bed all r-r-ready," Harry said with a yawn.  
  
"All right," Ron said. "Night Harry."  
  
"Night Ronniekins," Harry said with a grin as the lights in the room went out and he crawled into his four-poster bed.  
  
"Sometimes I violently dislike you, Harry." He heard Ron growl.  
  
"Sod off. I'm trying to sleep, wanker," Harry groused and then let himself drift off to sleep, exhaustion hitting him like an angry housewife's rolling pin.  
  
----------  
  
Draco leaned his back against the door and took in a deep breath and let it out in a great whoosh of air. How was he going to endure another day, let alone the rest of the year so close to Potter? He'd practically confessed everything short of the truth, that the beautiful girl Potter had been comforting was in fact one Draco Malfoy. Potter made him want to confess all of his sins and beg for absolution. This was going to be so hard.  
  
He thought he'd only admired Potter from afar for his looks, but he now realized how mistaken he'd been. What had been a crush, an infatuation since fifth year had changed. He wasn't just attracted to Harry, he was almost in love with him, and the more time he spent with Harry the more he would fall in love with Harry. Draco was losing himself, and for once that was not a scary thing.  
  
"Bloody hell, I wanted this. I wanted to feel. To know warmth, passion. Even love. I have that chance. He's so close. All I have to do is give in. I've been given the freedom of choice, and now all I have to do is take the leap. That doesn't seem so hard. I've already done the confessing bit, now I just have to get through the rest without telling him the truth," Draco spoke softly.  
  
He could still smell the warm woody scent of Harry around him, and this made him feel safe, protected, and cared about. Draco pushed himself away from the door and then noticed his trunk at the foot of one of the red curtained four posters. He hesitated as he neared the trunk and then laughed at himself. Those were, after all, his possessions.  
  
He unlocked the trunk and removed the wards, then opened the trunk. Inside he saw clothes, they were feminine clothes, night gowns, skirts of less than decent length, a couple of elegant dress robes, and two weeks worth of school uniforms embroidered with the Gryffindor crest and colors. Draco pulled out a nightgown, and noticing he was alone in the room put a ward on the door and then undressed. He noticed a full-length mirror by one of the four posters and went to gaze at his reflection.  
  
He noticed the perfection of the smooth supple skin. The curves of his new body were well placed and proportionate, and his skin was unblemished. He turned around to catch a glimpse of his back and let out a sigh of surprise when he noticed that his back was unmarked. There were no scars from the lashings he'd endured from his father's punishments. He use to make Draco kneel on the floor and remove his shirt and then would reach for a whip that was on display in his library. He took that whip down from its place on the wall and he used it.  
  
The whip had cracked in the air, and each fearsome snap had left a mark in the smooth flesh of his young son. Draco had screamed the first time the whip had lashed his back, but he did not make that mistake a second time. It was then that Draco had learned what true fear was, and he knew that he did not want to become the man that his father was.  
  
Draco marveled at his unblemished body and sighed. He'd been given a fresh start, although he wasn't sure he deserved it, nor was he certain if he fully appreciated this 'gift' just yet, but so far it had proved to be an interesting venture. He looked over the body again. This new body was unblemished, but on the inside there were scars. Draco knew those scars wouldn't go away, but now they could finally be left in the past. He was going to try with this new start, to see where it led him.  
  
Draco ran his hands over his body. Pausing at the breasts, noting how they peaked in the cold and under his touch. He could only imagine what it would feel like to have someone, Harry, touch his new unblemished body. Draco closed his eyes and continued his exploration of his new body.  
  
Once he was fairly familiar with his new territory he slipped into the lavender silk nightgown he'd pulled out of his trunk. He gazed at himself in the mirror once again, admiring the reflection and the nightgown. He had to admit that Snape did have very good taste in clothing despite the black that haunted the man's wardrobe.  
  
Draco stretched and then yawned again. He removed the ward on the door, although he wasn't certain why and then he returned to the four-poster with his trunk at its foot. He climbed into the bed and was pleased to note that it was comfortable, like his four-poster from his dorm in the dungeons. He noticed that this room however was not as damp or drafty as his former dorm had been. He pulled back the covers, climbed into the bed, curled up, and drew the covers over him. Within a few moments sleep took him. 


	3. Three: The Disappearance of Draco Malfo...

Three: The Disappearance of Draco Malfoy  
  
Draco sighed as he recognized the setting around him. He was by the lake and the Forbidden Forest and he was facing someone, a young man with messy dark hair, a young man he knew. Draco looked down and recognized the body, he was the girl from all of his other dreams. He looked at the back of the boy and suddenly words were tumbling out of his mouth.  
  
"I never lied to you. I just wasn't brave enough to tell you until now. How would you have felt? Look at me. I've only been like this for a few months."  
  
"You should have told me. I already suspected it. You knew too much about him, acted too much like him. If you would have told me then maybe this would be different between us," the young man said, but still he would not turn around.  
  
Draco stood up in anger, but that quickly subsided as he put his hand, the girl's hand, on the young man's shoulder. "I didn't want your pity, Potter. What would you have thought? The once proud Malfoy brought down so low. I was left with nothing, and my own father wanted to kill me. What would you have done?"  
  
"I don't know," Harry answered.  
  
"Exactly," Draco said in that cool elemental voice of his. "You don't know. You would have remembered me for what you thought I was and you would have pitied me. You never knew me until this happened. Isn't that a laugh? I had to become something completely different from what I had been for the past eighteen years of my life to get what I most wanted. And it didn't even turn out right."  
  
"What did you most want?" Harry asked.  
  
A small dry left Draco's lips. "I thought it was freedom, but that's a joke. People move from one confinement to the next, because I wanted love too, and love can trap you. Love can break you. It can make you strong and weak. Go, Harry, you're free to do what you want. Forget me, be done with me, and live your life."  
  
Harry didn't even turn around. He took one step, and then slowly another, until he was briskly walking away. Then Draco felt a presence behind him. He slowly turned around and faced himself, himself as he used to be, the boy, the handsome young man. He looked up at his old self and saw it not as real, but as a reflection, something to be altered.  
  
The reflection spoke, "Wishes do not always makes things easy. You are given these dreams in hopes that you may alter your destiny. If you wish to love, hold nothing back. Let your soul be seen by him. You are no longer weak, and know this, emotions do not make you weak. Do not let him go, if he is what you really want."  
  
"I've only known him for barely a day in this new body. Love takes time," Draco said.  
  
The reflection chuckled, and Draco found that he missed his old laugh. "You have had six and a half years of knowing him in this body, and you know love for him. Emotions have always run strong between you two, but they have been mistaken for animosity. Do not be afraid. And do not turn away."  
  
"Turn away from what?" Draco asked.  
  
The reflection smiled, Draco missed that smile; he missed a lot of things about his old body. "Your heart. Use what you have been given. And remember boy, love is freedom, not confinement."  
  
Suddenly Draco was pulled from the dream as he was bounced into the air by a force unknown to him. His eyes burst open and the first thing he saw was red hair, blue eyes, and a wide Weasley grin. A scream suddenly burst forth from his lips and filled the room. A few minutes later the Weasley was snatched from behind and Harry was apologizing profusely on behalf of his ill-mannered friend.  
  
"Bloody hell, what was that all about?" Draco snapped and then he was out of bed, pulled his fist back and decked Ron a good one, to which Ron immediately found himself unconscious.  
  
Harry looked at the delicate looking girl that had just decked his best friend, and then back at the unconscious Ron now laid out on the floor. Harry ran his tongue nervously over his lips and looked at the strange girl.  
  
"I guess he had that coming. I told him you probably didn't want a wake up call, but does he listen..." Harry trailed off as he finally took in what the girl was wearing, it was a light silk lavender nightgown, almost see- through. Harry's mouth fell open.  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry and then noticed the chill in the air. Heat rose to his cheeks as he said, "Oh hell, drag him out of here, so I can get dressed and then I'll help you carry the prat to the infirmary. Well out with you. And what are you doing coming into the girls' dormitory to wake me up? You had no idea what exactly I slept in! Honestly, never a thought passes between thick skulls."  
  
"It was his idea!" Harry snapped and Draco smiled as he noted the color in the dark haired boy's face.  
  
"Out! Out, damn Spot. Out I say. I have no intentions of undressing and dressing in front of the famous Harry Potter and his unconscious sidekick, and he could be playing this off to chance a peak!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, hefted up the dead weight of his unconscious best friend and left the girls' dorm. Draco quickly tore through his trunk, coming across a green cashmere sweater and a knee length black skirt.  
  
"Bloody hell! Are they all knee length?!" He complained and then he noticed a collection of bras and panties. "How bloody humiliating!"  
  
Draco warded the door and then quickly dressed, having a bit of trouble with the bra, but finally getting it on properly. He gazed into the full- length mirror and noticed his current 'perkiness'. He smiled to himself and hefted his new cleavage.  
  
"So that's what those things are for!" He said with laugh.  
  
Then he put on a pair of below the knee socks, his boots that Madame Pomfrey had altered, and then he pulled on the cloak Severus had give him. No sense in freezing anything off...  
  
Draco then removed the wards from the door, found his toothbrush in his trunk and ran off to the bathroom where he quickly remedied his morning breath. By that time Ron was already coming around with the beginnings of a nice black eye and both boys looked up as Draco descended the stairs and entered the common room. Ron's mouth of course was hanging open and the poor boy was practically drooling. Amazingly enough the boy had been a smooth operator at attracting girls since sixth year, but now he was acting like his old gawky fourth year self in the presence of Draco. Harry sighed and thought back to Ron's 'fascination' with Fleur Delacour.  
  
"Wow, you look..." Ron couldn't finish and then he noticed the colors she was wearing, a look of disappointment on his face. "You're wearing Slytherin colors."  
  
"I happen to like black and green, and besides, Uncle Sev is responsible for my current wardrobe. I assure you that when I come about a reasonable purse I will buy some bloody trousers and perhaps a skirt or two of reasonable length, or perhaps I could do some transfiguration to my wardrobe," Draco said with a sneer of disdain.  
  
"And hide those legs?" Ron asked incredulously and then blushed. "Sorry, but I was only pointing out a tragedy."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Really, I feel so short. I used to be so tall and now look at me! I'm a bleedin dwarf!"  
  
"You're taller than most girls, and you do have fabulous legs. Ron can spot them. You wouldn't be related to a Veela would you?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron turned to gape at Harry's question and then turned to Draco expectant of an answer.  
  
Draco shook his head. "No, just the result of good and careful breeding. My father was careful in choosing his bride. He expected to produce an heir of beauty and poise to be his shadow. Alas I was his disappointment."  
  
"Disappointment?" Ron's eyes widened in shock, at least as much as the swollen left one could widen. "Your father must have been out of his bloody mind! You're, well have you seen a mirror?"  
  
"Yes," Draco said and then added under his breath, "And the reflection has changed."  
  
"How so?" Harry asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"How has your reflection changed?"  
  
Ron looked as though he missed something. Draco looked up and with a quick thought said, "I'm just not the same person I used to be. I mean, look at me. Who would have ever thought the great Harry Potter and Weasley Extraordinaire would take me under their wing."  
  
"There you go again. I'm Ron; he's just Harry, and you really put yourself down. Chin up, your dad's a bastard and all that, now anyone up for breakfast?" Ron said and then rubbed his stomach suggestively.  
  
"Bottomless pit aye, Ron?" Draco asked and then nearly jumped when Harry and Ron flanked him, hitching their arms about his shoulders in camaraderie. Harry and Ron began to talk and joke about things, and they started telling him about Granger, to which he laughed, joked, and talked with them. So this is what it's like to have friends. How much of life have I missed out on? Draco thought to himself as they sat down at the Gryffindor table and dug into the eggs and bacon that appeared.  
  
The atmosphere was friendly between Ron, Harry, and 'Diana' as the week progressed, and then the news came that students were returning and the holiday was over. Draco almost dreaded school starting up again. Could he still be friends with Potter and Weasley? What were Dumbledore and Snape going to say about his absence? What was his father planning? Still every time he started thinking of something less than pleasant Harry and Ron showed up to talk and just be in his company.  
  
Then other thoughts began to surface. Granger was going to come back. Would she discover the truth? What would Harry and Ron think with Granger back, and what would Harry think when he discovered the truth about 'Diana'? Harry was not stupid and Draco had already slipped up a few times. Draco would just have to be more careful. At least he was allowed to be himself for once. There was no real animosity toward Harry or Ron, that had all been an act. Draco found that once he got past all the lies his father had taught him, that Harry and Ron were two very decent people. He was still hesitant where Granger was concerned however. Sometimes she could be too clever for her own good...  
  
----------  
  
The Hogwarts Express was due back today, and with it came the return of Granger into the lives of Harry and Ron. Draco was considerably nervous. Harry and Ron were going to the station to meet up with Granger and somehow Harry had managed to talk Draco into joining them. At Harry's request Dumbledore had given them permission to go. They took one of the carriages to the station and awaited the train. During the wait Ron seemed more jumpy than usual, to which Draco raised an eyebrow and then caught Harry's eyes.  
  
Harry leaned down to whisper in Draco's ear, "I think he fancies 'Mione, but hasn't the guts to tell her yet. He's been like this about seeing her ever since fourth year, although he doesn't let on in front of her."  
  
Draco nodded and gave a small snort of laughter. "Well, he certainly seems excited. Why hasn't he made a move yet? From what I heard he's been through most of the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw female population within dating age."  
  
Harry gave him a funny look. "Malfoy told you about Ron's reputation?" Harry then noticed the look on the girl's face and how she shivered. He took off his cloak and put it around her. So she was now covered in her newly transfigured trousers a dark purple sweater, Snape's cloak, and Harry's. She had also grown rather fond of the boots that Madam Pomfrey had adjusted for her.  
  
The girl looked up at Harry and flushed. "Thank you. You didn't have to. You must be cold and I already have a cloak."  
  
"It's fine. I'll survive," Harry said.  
  
"No," Draco said. "I insist, if you demand that I wear your cloak then you get under here with me and we'll share the warmth. Besides body heat is more effective anyway."  
  
Draco opened the cloak in invitation and Harry shrugged and got under the cloak with the beautiful girl. Neither of them noticed the look that had passed over Ron's face as he watched the entire exchange. Harry always got the pretty ones first, but maybe, just maybe Ron had a chance with Hermione.  
  
The train pulled into the station, Harry tried to extricate himself from the cloak, but 'Diana' wouldn't let him. Harry shook his head with a grin and snaked his arm around the girl's waist and together they made their way to watch as everyone stepped off of the train. Ron sidled up by Harry and looked at the pair beneath the cloaks and shook his head.  
  
"I get distracted for just a bit and you two are cuddling? Can't turn about for a second!" Ron scolded playfully and then looked up anxiously as students began filing out of the train.  
  
After a few minutes passed a familiar girl descended the steps of the train, but she looked different. She raced over to Ron and Harry and stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Harry bundled up under his cloak with a girl. Her eyes widened and then she narrowed them at the girl, carefully noting the long silvery blonde hair, and sharp gray eyes. The girl in turn examined her.  
  
Hermione was shocked to see Harry with someone. He hadn't really taken up much with dating, and yet there he was standing before her with a strange girl that she'd never seen before, but there was something familiar about the girl. She then looked at Ron and noticed that both Ron and Harry were giving her funny looks. Then she remembered how she'd been experimenting with permanent straightening charms on her hair, and finally found one that was successful. She spun around and let out a little laugh.  
  
"So, guys do notice the little changes. Do you like it?" She asked.  
  
Ron gaped for a few more minutes when Harry said, "You look gorgeous Mione. Oh, and this is Diana Marlowe. She's Hogwarts newest Gryffindor. She transferred here over the holiday, and Ron and I have taken her into the fold. Should be nice for you to have another girl to talk to. You probably get tired of all the Quidditch and Ron's oh so manly advice."  
  
Hermione snorted. "Harry you haven't been listening to anymore of Ron's advice have you? Remember when Parvati slapped you? That had to be painful. And hello Diana, I'm sure you've heard all sorts of things about me. If it was anything bad they either made me do it or they were making it up. I'm Hermione."  
  
Hermione extended her hand. Draco put a hand through the cloak and took Hermione's warm hand and shook it. He met her toffee colored eyes and felt warmth. She was being nice to him. He had been expecting her to take one look at him and immediately realize who he was, despite his sudden changes.  
  
"Hello. I've heard many things about you, but not just from these two. Draco had a few things to say about you..." Draco blushed and then moved closer to Harry, feeling a chill run up his spine.  
  
Hermione looked at the girl that had moved closer to her best friend, she'd noticed a look pass over the girl's face, and had she been talking about Draco Malfoy? Hermione pulled her cloak closer about her and the group headed toward a carriage. Once they were seated in the warmth of the carriage, Ron and Hermione on one side and Harry and 'Diana' sitting across for them, Hermione spoke up.  
  
"Um... Diana?" Hermione began hesitantly and then continued more confidently when the girl looked up. "You mentioned that Draco had a few things to say about me. Would that be Draco Malfoy?"  
  
"Yes," Draco said, "Draco and I were very close. Almost the same person really..."  
  
"That's interesting. I read something about him in the Daily Prophet the other day. Most of what that paper writes about are lies, but this seemed to have a ring of truth to it..."  
  
"What did you read?" Ron asked, and Harry noticed that Diana swallowed thickly.  
  
Hermione looked at Diana and noticed that Harry had taken her hand. Hermione looked up and met the girl's cool gray eyes and could have sworn she was looking at Draco Malfoy. She shook herself and then answered Ron's question. "Well according to what I read, Draco Malfoy has been reported missing. His father had a few choice things to say about it. It seems that Malfoy had a few secrets and Lucius Malfoy lost his temper and then Draco suddenly disappeared. No one knows where he is. Lucius Malfoy has suggested questioning Snape on Draco's whereabouts, but Snape claims to know nothing, and then there is the question of the strange girl Lucius found in his son's bed on the day that Draco disappeared."  
  
"They... Oh gods, they wrote about the girl? Was there anything else about her? Did they... Did my fa... Did Lucius say anything about the girl, anything strange?" Draco asked anxiously.  
  
"According to the article Lucius Malfoy described her as looking extraordinary like Draco, and that her voice was enchanting, like her words took on the property of magic simply by being spoken from her mouth," Hermione said and then narrowed her eyes at 'Diana'. "You're the girl, aren't you, and did you almost call Lucius Malfoy 'father'?"  
  
The color in the girl's face drained. Hermione had only known her for a span of a few minutes and had come to startling conclusions. Draco took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He turned to face Harry and then took Harry's face in his hands and kissed him. Harry didn't respond to the kiss at first, but soon gave in. Ron and Hermione looked at the strange girl. Ron completely oblivious and Hermione wondering what the hell was going on and thinking along the lines of the impossible... Could this strange girl, Diana Marlowe, be Draco Malfoy?  
  
The girl finally let Harry up for air and then whispered, "I'm sorry Harry, but it's time for the truth as far as I'm allowed to tell. I've wanted to do that to you for nearly three years."  
  
"What?" Harry and Ron asked at the same time and Harry finished suspiciously with, "But you've only known me for a week."  
  
"It's time you know the truth, she warned me of this," Draco, the girl, said and then reached a hand beneath the neck of her sweater and produced what looked like moonstone clutched in the silver talon of a falcon. The pendant was on a delicate silver chain. 


	4. Four: Dark Secret

Four: Dark Secret  
  
"It's time you know the truth, she warned me of this," Draco, the girl, said and then reached a hand beneath the neck of her sweater and produced what looked like moonstone clutched in the silver talon of a falcon. The pendant was on a delicate silver chain.  
  
Draco held the pendant up for them all to see and then said, "This is what it began with."  
  
"Oh sweet Circe! That is a wishing stone! How did you get that?" Hermione asked in wide-eyed shock.  
  
"It was a Christmas gift, but I didn't know who the sender was. I noticed it was a moonstone, and thought it would bring me a good dream or two. It had been a while since I had a decent night's sleep. I must admit that I didn't know about the other properties of the pendant," Draco said.  
  
"She came to you in a dream. Your reflection. You probably didn't recognize her for what she was and she promised you a wish. What did you give up for the wish?" Hermione asked in a flurry of academic excitement.  
  
Draco looked at her in exasperation. "Well if you know so much, would you like to continue for me? Bloody know-it-all Gryffindor. Honestly, what am I being punished for?"  
  
"You're a Gryffindor too," Ron said.  
  
"But I wasn't always a Gryffindor." Draco sighed and rolled his eyes at the expressions of his three companions. "Lucius Malfoy is my father..."  
  
Before he could continue Ron cut in, "Then that would make Draco Malfoy your brother."  
  
"Not necessarily Ron," Hermione piped up and then Harry and Ron turned to Hermione, wondering what she knew. "Well, go on Diana, I'm certainly interested in what a transsexual Slytherin has to say about all of this."  
  
Ron looked confused and Harry looked positively frightful and turned full on to look at the girl that was sitting beside him. "Oh God! Who are you? Malfoy?"  
  
"First place to Potty with runner up the Weasel. Honestly, Granger, how do you put up with these two?" Draco said and then rolled his eyes. Harry removed his arm and leaned over his head in his hands.  
  
"Look, someone sent me this bloody stone for Christmas. I had a dream and I met my reflection, as Granger so aptly put it. She promised to grant me freedom, to give me a chance at..." Here he paused and laughed. "At love. When I woke up I was in a different body. I was in the body of my reflection. That poem I told you two about, I wrote it about a dream I had. I dreamed about a girl with this body and she was talking to someone, a boy that was walking away from her. She looked so sad. That is beside the point. And when I woke up from this particular dream I was a girl.  
  
"My father went berserk. He was already angry with me from an earlier argument we had. I was sick on the night that I was supposed to take the Dark Mark. I almost died, and then my father discovered something by using the walls to spy on me. He knew I didn't want to take the Dark Mark and he must have found a way to get into my mind, because he knew I'd been..."  
  
"You'd been what Malfoy?" Ron asked and then shook his head, hardly believing that this beautiful girl was Draco Malfoy.  
  
Draco sucked in a deep breath and then snapped, "I'd been having these fantasies about Potter. There you happy? Now you know! Father didn't care about my inclination to fancy men as long as I married and produced an heir, but he wasn't exactly pleased to discover my fascination with Potter here."  
  
"Why didn't you just say something?" Harry asked his words a bit muffled by his hands.  
  
"I did. Why do you think Uncle Sev took me in? Dumbledore knows too. The resorting, taking me in as an exchange student, all of this was his idea. Although Uncle Sev came up with my name."  
  
"And all those things you told us, about the poetry, the drawings, me. Is it true?" Harry asked again more anxiously as he looked up and met Draco's gray gaze head on.  
  
Draco looked down and sighed, and then he felt Harry turn, and then Harry's fingers were on his chin as he lifted Draco's face so he could look into his eyes.  
  
"Yes," Draco whispered. "Every word of it was true. I've never had friends until this happened, and I never had a chance with you. I told you all of those things so you would understand. I was going to tell you someday, but I didn't think you would find out the truth so soon. I never should have underestimated Granger. About everything from before..."  
  
Draco pulled away from Harry's touch and looked down. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Thank you," Hermione said and Draco nearly jumped when he felt her hand on his shoulder.  
  
Draco nodded at her and then leaned back in the seat, no longer touching Harry. The question had to be asked, finally Draco opened his mouth and the condemning words fell out.  
  
"If I weren't in this new body, if I weren't a girl, could you have loved me Harry? Could you have loved me as I was before?"  
  
Harry sucked in a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. "I told you that I liked you, and I thought you were handsome. I go both ways you git. As for all of this, I need time to take this all in. I need to think this all through. You had to go and let Hermione figure it out before you told us. I could have taken the truth if you'd just told me. I already had my suspicions."  
  
Hermione and Ron watched the exchange in mute fascination and both noticed the rage building in the girl's gray eyes as she exploded, "Don't you give me that bullshit! The day I came to Hogwarts was the day this happened to me! I was still adjusting! If I was still adjusting then I knew that anyone who learned about this would need time to adjust! Do you know what it's like waking up and worrying about your new housemates accepting you after years of torturing them? Or what about waking up in a strange new body? Looking in a mirror or taking a bath? THIS," Draco shouted, indicating his female body. "Is foreign territory to me!"  
  
"Harry, leave off. Obviously, he, oh Circe this is awkward, is still dealing with this. It seems like both of you need time. I'm sorry I busted up the coziness that was building between the two of you, but you can't build anything over a sand pit of lies. Maybe it's a good thing that this is in the open."  
  
Draco's face drained of color again, if that was possible. "What, no! You can't tell anyone. We're the only ones that can know, and Snape and Dumbledore of course. My father tried to kill me. Can you imagine who else might be after me? If this gets out I'll never be able to live it down. And this isn't something that will go away. Once the wish is granted there is no undoing it. I'll be in this body for the rest of my life."  
  
"Bloody hell! This is a mess. We won't tell Malfoy, we swear it," Ron said and then he suddenly turned green. "Merlin! I said you had nice legs! I think I'm going to be sick."  
  
"Do grow up Ron!" Hermione snapped.  
  
By that time Draco had taken off Harry's cloak and had given it back to him. Harry took the cloak and gave a slight nod. The rest of the ride was filled with Hermione's questions about Draco adjusting to his new situation. Draco gave a few terse answers and raised his eyebrow when Hermione invited him to her prefect's room to discuss more private matters concerning Draco's new body.  
  
Ron and Harry's ears couldn't help but perk up at what Hermione was suggesting. She looked at the boys and noticed Draco's blush. "Oh, you three are perfect for each other! All disgusting and perverted! Honestly! It's just a bit of girl talk, between me and... Draco. This is so surreal."  
  
"Call me Diana from now on Granger. I've started getting used to the name and its safer for me of you get used to calling me that," Draco said.  
  
"Okay, but you have to start calling me Hermione. We can't be friends if you keep calling me Granger. Besides you call Harry and Ron by their names now. So, about this poetry and drawing, care to elaborate?"  
  
----------  
  
The day hadn't gone as bad as he had expected. He and Granger had quite a bit in common and he actually liked being around her. She wasn't as annoying as he originally thought. Ron was now more comfortable around him, but every now and then he got nervous and gave him funny looks. It was Harry's reaction that had made him so nervous. At least Harry was still speaking to him. Harry kept close to him, and there were many questions regarding Gryffindor's newest arrival, and just how close she was with Harry.  
  
At dinner that night Dumbledore had reintroduced 'Diana Marlowe', this time to everyone. There were a few cat calls and the hissing and booing of the Slytherins. Of course everyone noticed how Harry seemed to always be near the girl and decided that she'd already been claimed. Several of the Gryffindor boys Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom questioned Harry, Ron, and 'Diana' about how their holiday had been. Draco had been decidedly quiet under that line of questioning. Harry and Ron gave a detailed account of how they'd met Diana, but true to their word they didn't say anything about her being Draco Malfoy, nor did they mention anything about Draco the poet. Much to Draco's relief.  
  
Much to Draco's complete horror he found that he would be rooming with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, while Hermione had the seventh year prefect's room all to herself. It was as he was getting things out of his trunk that Gryffindor's two gossip queens approached him with a barrage of questions. Where did 'she' come from? Who were 'her' parents? What was with 'her' and Harry Potter?  
  
Luckily Draco was saved when Hermione asked him to bring a change of clothes and his school robes and stay with her in her room so that they could have a bit of 'chat'. Lavender and Parvati had been disappointed, but the expression on Draco's face had spelled relief. Draco had immediately gotten out a pair of trousers, a white blouse, a gray pullover vest, the new Gryffindor school robes, socks, his boots, and a light blue silk night gown. The two gossips looked at the clothing Draco had pulled from his trunk and frowned disapprovingly at the trousers. Draco looked back at the two girls, shook his head, and then quickly left the room, noting that Hermione was waiting for him, and then she led him to her room and told him the password, "Polyjuice Potion."  
  
Once the two were in her room Draco looked around. His mouth fell open. His old prefect room in the dungeons had been nothing compared to this one. This one was warm and shrouded in the Gryffindor colors, but it held so many things in it that made the room belong obviously to Hermione. There were bookshelves covered with an erratic selection of books and there were photos, muggle photos in frames of Hermione and her parents, and there were wizard photos of Hermione, Ron, and Harry, throughout their years at Hogwarts and summers spent with the Weasleys. The room had a huge four poster bed pushed against the wall to the door's left, and there was a big cherry oak desk by the window across from the door, and there was a fireplace and a door across from the huge four poster bed. There was also a sofa and a couple of red wing backed chairs that faced the fireplace. The room was by far very spacious for one person. There was even room for another bed to be added without taking away from the space that already filled the room. Hermione pointed to the door next to the big cherry oak desk and told Draco that was the bathroom. Draco put his change of clothes down on the desk, and then went into the bathroom with his nightgown.  
  
He walked into the bathroom and his jaw hit the floor. This bathroom was the exact replica of his bathroom at home, except where his bathroom at home had been in black marble this one was done in white marble, and where the door of his shower at home had been a stain glass mural of a dragon with serpents entwining its legs, the shower door of Hermione's bathroom was of unicorns emerging from the sea and mermaids resting on large stones and watching the unicorns step onto the land. It was the most beautiful bathroom he had ever been in.  
  
After a few minutes of gawking at the bathroom he undressed and then slipped into his nightgown. He looked at his reflection and sighed, wondering if he would ever get used to being a girl. At a knock on the door he jumped. He quickly shook himself and then walked out of the room. He didn't get very far as he walked into something and nearly fell back, but a pair of arms wrapped around him before he could fall. Draco looked up and his gray eyes locked with green ones. Harry was still fully dressed, and he looked down and noticed with a shock that Draco was in light silky blue night gown, that was very near see-through like the lavender nightgown he'd seen him in only a week ago.  
  
Harry blushed slightly and let the boy in a girl's body go. The eyebrow above the left gray eye rose in calculation and a smirk played across Draco's lips. It was nice to know the affect he had on Harry. Draco glanced down and noticed a rise in Harry's trousers. Harry noticed the direction of Draco's glance, and cleared his throat quickly. Harry then went over to sit on the couch and grabbed a cushion and placed it in his lap. His face was still crimson, Draco could tell, even in the light of the fire in the fireplace.  
  
Draco decided to make the dark haired boy squirm, well that and the two chairs were already occupied, so he sat down beside Harry. He smirked again when he noticed Harry swallow thickly. Ron turned around in one of the red chairs to look at what was going on and noticed that Harry was blushing with a pillow in his lap and Draco was sitting very close to him. Hermione sat in her chair across from Ron and shook her head at the sight of Harry and Draco on the sofa. She got up, pulled something from her wardrobe and tossed it to Draco. He caught it with the lightening fast reflexes of a seasoned quidditch player. He looked from the fluffy pink terrycloth robe to Hermione and raised his eyebrow.  
  
Hermione sighed. "Just put it on before you cause anymore trouble. I got us all here to talk and you are not making things easy dressed like that and look at what you've aready done to Harry! I don't think I could put up with Ron if you did that to him."  
  
Harry blushed again and then said, "Thanks Hermione, why not just hang out of your door and tell everyone in the common room while you're at it. You know I haven't had a reaction like this since..."  
  
"Since when, Harry?" Draco asked innocently as he pulled on the robe.  
  
"Oi, Harry, you aren't going to tell him about how we found out you fancied him are you?" Ron asked and then his eyes widened and he looked at Harry apologetically. "Sorry."  
  
Harry narrowed his eyes at the redhead. "I'm sure you are."  
  
"When was this event?" Draco asked.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "So now we are talking about Harry's infatuations instead of more pressing matters. Honestly! Draco it was the first quidditch game of this year when you fell off of your broom, ended up unconscious, and broke five ribs. Madam Hooch pulled the quidditch gear and your shirt off to assess your injury and the next thing anyone saw was Harry rushing off to the dressing rooms. Ron, of course went after him and that was when Harry finally confessed."  
  
"I think I'd like to hear about that more in detail a little later. Think you're up to bit of story time next time we're alone Harry?" Draco asked, a purr in his elemental voice as he ran his hand slowly up Harry's arm sending a bolt of lightening up the dark haired boy's spine.  
  
"Please stop with the foreplay already," Ron groaned and then he looked at Hermione in hopes that she could come up with a change of subject.  
  
"But we are having so much fun," Draco said softly, leaned against Harry, letting his fingers brush over the pulse in the dark haired boy's throat, and then he blew in his ear. "Aren't we, Harry?"  
  
Harry swallowed thickly, drew in his bottom lip, and bit it, as his heart sped up and a low groan escaped his lips. Hermione's eyes widened and Ron decided to open his mouth. "Bloody HELL! I can't take this! Will you please stop with him already? Crickey! Your bloody voice is bad enough, but to use it against him like that! It's a bleedin' wonder he hasn't already burst!"  
  
Harry shook himself and his skin glowed bright red as he turned away from the beautiful girl sitting beside him, teasing him. The beautiful girl that was Draco Malfoy. Draco was smiling at him, a wicked glint in those gray eyes.  
  
"So, does this mean you've had time enough, Potter?" Draco whispered against his ear and then bit his earlobe. Harry let out another moan as Draco blew on his ear and continued to whisper, "Will you fight me? I like it when you fight. So...passionate..."  
  
With that, Harry's resolve broke. He pushed Draco away and then ran straight for the bathroom, where water could be heard running. Draco laughed and was on the receiving end of two sets of glares, one from Weasley and the other from Granger. Draco shook his head and continued to laugh, the elemental river magic flowing from his lips in musical laughter.  
  
Finally Draco's laughter died down as he said, "I think I like this advantage that I have from this new body. It certainly has a magic of its own..." he trailed and then the sound of rushing water stopped. He continued when Harry walked out of the bathroom and took a seat on Hermione's bed rather than the sofa. "Wouldn't you agree, Harry?"  
  
Harry glared at him and said, "Just because you're a girl doesn't change the fact that you are a rotten spoiled bastard!"  
  
Draco chuckled. "As I recall, my parents were married when I was born. It would do for you to find a more accurate insult."  
  
"Will the both of you stop this! We have serious matters to discuss! Honestly you two bicker like a married couple!" Hermione snapped to which Draco smiled.  
  
"That's not a bad idea," Draco said and then looked at Harry with a wicked grin, "What do you say to you and I giving Lucius a legitemate little Potter as a grandchild?"  
  
Harry visibly paled at that suggestion and Ron groaned as though he were going to be sick. Somehow this was not a conversation that Hermione and Ron thought they would ever have to witness.  
  
Hermione had finally had enough. She turned to Ron and then to Harry, and pointed to the door as she said, "Out, the both of you. Obviously having the two of you in this room is being counter productive, I suppose I'll just have to have this conversation with Draco alone! Both of you out this very instant before I immobilize you!"  
  
Ron gave a look to Harry and the both of them hurried out of the door as Draco watched in shock. They were obviously afraid of Hermione when she was angry. Draco then turned to Hermione and noticed the fury he saw in her face.  
  
Her eyes practically threw sparks at him as she spoke, "What were you thinking?! Harry has had a thing for you for years! Leave off with him already! This is hard on him! Can't you see that? He fights with himself every time he is around you and you nearly tore him apart at the seams! What could he possibly see in you, other than a good quick tryst in a broom closet?!"  
  
Draco stood up and glared at the girl, who was a couple of inches shorter than him. "Leave off Granger, this is between him and me!"  
  
"You can't just toy with him! He won't be a notch on your little bedpost of conquests Malfoy! I won't let you do that to him!"  
  
"Excuse me!" Draco hissed.  
  
Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what she'd just said, but still she stood her ground. "You heard me! You won't hurt Harry! How many others have you taken to bed? You of all people know your own reputation!"  
  
Draco glared at the girl and then turned away. "You don't know a bloody thing, Granger. Not a damn thing. I thought you were above judging people based on rumors. Tell me, what is it you've heard?"  
  
The head girl looked at the back of Draco Malfoy, the long platinum hair flickering golden in the firelight. Hermione took a deep breath and put her hand on the shaking form of the pale girl with her back turned.  
  
"It doesn't matter. Why don't you tell me the truth," Hermione said softly.  
  
Draco spun around, a look of pain and hatred flickering in those cool gray eyes. "What do you want to know? How my father beat me? How Marcus Flint demanded me in his bed every night in first and second year? Do you want to know about when Blaise Zabini broke me? Or is it the scars that Flint and Blaise and my father left? It's all gone now. This is a new body, not a broken one. The only thing broken is what is inside, me."  
  
Hermione's jaw slackened in shock as she looked at the pale girl standing before her with Draco Malfoy's eyes and soul. The blond continued to talk.  
  
"Do you want to know how I shuddered when Flint touched me? Or how I screamed under my father's whip and the Cruciatus? Or do you prefer to know how my heart broke when Blaise betrayed me to my father? Tell me Granger! What is it that you want to know? Or would you prefer I call Harry back so he can know? So he can look on me in disgust and never want to touch me again!"  
  
The gray eyes filled with tears and the pale blonde sat back down on the couch, head clasped in her delicate hands. Hermione knelt before the girl, tears in her own brown eyes, and then she put her arms around the blonde and began rocking her back and forth.  
  
"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered, lightly stroking the blonde girl's hair and patting her back. "I'm so sorry. No one ever deserved that. You must hate them."  
  
Draco pulled back from Hermione, tears still in his eyes, but he didn't let any fall. "Yes, I do hate them, but what I hate even more is pity. I don't need your pity Granger. Just leave off."  
  
Hermione sat down on the couch next to the blonde and shook her head, amazed at how strong Draco Malfoy really was. "I don't pity you, you git. I just want to be your friend. You're hurting, and I want to help lessen your pain."  
  
Before Draco could come up with a witty reply Hermione leaned down and captured his lips in a soft kiss. The blonde's gray eyes shot open in surprise as he felt her tongue run across his bottom lip. He opened his mouth to protest and she took that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss. Eventually Hermione moved back and looked at the blonde girl with wide eyes and her face turned scarlet. The blonde was looking at her in surprise and calculation.  
  
"Oh, sweet Circe! I'm sorry. It's just..." Hermione's face grew redder and she turned away. "I used to have a crush on you a long time ago, and then I kind of fell for Harry. I shouldn't have, but I caught a glimpse of what Harry sees in you. I don't... I mean I... I don't fancy girls."  
  
Draco sighed and then then took Hermione's chin in his soft delicate fingers. "It's all right. They won't ever know this happened. Just please... Don't tell Harry about the things I've told you. I don't want him to pity me and give me one of his 'I wish I could have saved you' looks."  
  
"I won't tell him, you've my word," she said.  
  
Draco smiled. "I have heard that a Gryffindor's word is the most trustworthy promise ever given. Thank you. Now about this girl talk you mentioned earlier..." 


	5. Five: A Sneaky Visit by Aunt Scarlet

Five: A Sneaky Visit from Aunt Scarlet  
  
Draco spent most of his nights in Hermione's room, so much so that she had an extra bed added to her room and made a request to have "Diana" as her roommate. A request that Dumbledore found amusing and gave Draco a huge feeling of relief seeing as to how Lavender and Parvati were enough to drive him crazy with their questions and "after hours" girl talk. He preferred his intellectual discussions with Hermione or his conversations with Weasley over the scandalous gossip Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown dealt in.  
  
Also when he was around Harry, he had taken to being low key. He'd had a long talk with Hermione about Harry, and decided that slow, although frustrating, was the best option with capturing Harry's attention and heart.  
  
Ron of course was becoming more comfortable around Draco, much to the surprise of Harry, Hermione, and Draco. The redhead even joked around and playfully flirted with the blonde, much to Hermione and Draco's amusement and Harry's annoyance.  
  
Snape was still the cruel bastard during potions, but he had a strange soft spot for the blonde Gryffindor and often praised her work. Apparently Draco hadn't lost his talent for potions. Many Slytherins were shocked to note that the pretty blonde girl with the black magic voice was able to earn Gryffindor points during potions.  
  
On another strange twist, The Daily Prophet reported that the body of Draco Malfoy had been found. Oddly enough the body was horribly deformed from various curses, and could only be identified by the robes he wore and the platinum blonde hair.  
  
The Slytherins had hardly a reaction to the news of their golden boy's death. Pansy put on a good show, but other than that none of them had anything to say, beyond what a pity they would have to find a new Quidditch team captain and a seeker.  
  
'Diana' on the other hand took the news of Draco's death in shock. Hermione had opened up her newspaper and after reading the headline all color drained from her face. Anxious to see what had caused the reaction, Harry and Ron looked over her shoulder and then gave 'Diana' a funny look. The blonde arched an eyebrow at the three, sighed, and then snatched the paper from Hermione's hands. Immediately her gray eyes widened at the headline and a faint choking sound rose from her throat and fell from her lips. Suddenly Dean Thomas looked over her shoulder and read the headline and then said, "Always knew the git would go young. Poor sod, wonder who killed him."  
  
Those words broke Draco's resolve as he took in the words' meanings and anger over the lack of respect for 'his passing' filled him. He stood up, turned to Dean Thomas, pulled back a fist and knocked the poor unsuspecting boy in the face. The boy fell back and then Draco was on him, beating him into a bloody pulp. Harry jumped across the table and grabbed Draco, hauling her back. Professors McGonagall and Snape rushed over to assess the situation and McGonagall was shocked to see the newest Gryffindor attacking a fellow Gryffindor. The blonde girl was even struggling against Harry to launch herself back at Dean.  
  
Harry bent his head and said something that only the girl could hear and she calmed down a bit, but then she turned silver eyes on the beaten and barely conscious Dean Thomas. Her voice, still so full of elemental magic, was cold like glacier water flowing down a mountain.  
  
"How dare you show such little respect to a boy, a man you never knew?! He was the bravest person I ever knew, and I'm proud to say that I loved and admired Draco Malfoy. If you ever speak an ill word about him again, you will have more than your pretty face to worry about!" She spat venomously.  
  
"Diana, let's go before you say something that you may regret, come on," Harry said, and began to pull her toward the doors of Great Hall.  
  
Upon seeing the approach of the professors Draco relented and allowed Harry to lead him away. Harry took him to a strange room that had bookshelves lining the walls, pillows on the floor, and various objects used in the detection of the dark arts. Draco looked around the room with wide eyes and then sighed before he sat down on the cushioned floor. He turned away from Harry and sucked in a deep gust of air.  
  
Finally Draco's voice filled the room. "Where have you taken me? What is this room?"  
  
Harry chuckled. "This is where my little Defense Against the Dark Arts class met during fifth year, it's called the room of requirement. You remember Umbridge's dictatorship. So we kept it all a secret. It had quite a turn out from every house, except the Slytherin house of course."  
  
"Wonders never cease with you Potter," Draco said with a sigh.  
  
"The same could be said for you," Harry replied and then moved around and knelt before Draco and pushed the platinum hair out of the girl's face. Draco looked up at him, silvery gray eyes trying to read green.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?"  
  
Instead of answering Harry leaned forward until his lips met Draco's in a soft chaste kiss, but Draco wouldn't let it go at that. Draco wrapped his delicate feminine arms around the dark haired boy and wouldn't let him go. Draco's tongue darted out and brushed Harry's bottom lip. Draco felt Harry's body shuddered and then Harry's mouth opened up and Draco tasted him, his tongue meeting Harry's in burning passion. Harry's hand tangled into the platinum fall of Draco's hair and Harry's other hand settled at the base of Draco's spine, pulling the feminine body against his own and that was when Draco noticed Harry's growing arousal.  
  
Harry managed to press Draco's back into the cushions as instinct took over and then he felt Draco's delicate hand pressing on his chest. Harry let out a small cry of protest as he let Draco up from the kiss. Harry sat back and then Draco sat up, both were breathing hard, their hearts racing, blood and fire rushing through their veins. Harry's green eyes were dark with desire and suddenly Draco's chest tightened in fear and apprehension. He couldn't go any further, because there would be no regrets between he and Harry.  
  
"I've had time," Harry said, his voice deep. "And I want you."  
  
Draco sighed. "I know, but there are things that you don't know. And I don't know how to tell you."  
  
"Tell me what?" Harry asked.  
  
"I lied when I told you that I... That 'Draco' died a virgin. I haven't been a virgin since I was a first year. Merlin... I can't believe I'm telling you this. If I'd had a choice though... I would have waited for you," Draco said, and then he looked down at the cushioned floor.  
  
"If you'd had a choice?" Harry asked and then his face twisted in horror as he realized what Draco was telling him. "What happened to you?"  
  
Draco laughed, the elemental magic of his feminine voice filling the room. "Isn't it funny how I told Granger I didn't want you to know, because you wouldn't understand. Wouldn't want me any more, and here I am, about to tell you because I cannot stand the idea of there being lies or secrets between us. You will hate me, Harry. And I won't blame you."  
  
"I could never hate you," Harry whispered. "I can be angry with you, annoyed with you, even happy with you, but I couldn't hate you."  
  
"You believe that now," Draco said, his voice edged with bitterness, and then he sighed in defeat. "Once I was sorted into Slytherin I thought I had it made. I was a Malfoy after all. What I didn't realize was that the power the name held was not enough to protect me. I told you that I was a sickly child when I was younger. I didn't start gaining strength until I received my letter of acceptance from Hogwarts. It was my third night here that it happened.  
  
"Marcus Flint saw me in the common room and then he came up to me. He suggested that I go to his room that night, and I asked him why. He told me I would find out when I showed up. I didn't go though. The next day he came after me. He shoved me into a broom closet for some privacy and told me if I didn't show up in his room that night that I would regret it. He hit me in the stomach, knocked the wind out of me and then sent me on my way. But I still didn't go to him.  
  
"So, instead he came to me, that third night. I don't know how late it was, but everyone in my dorm was asleep, although how anyone could sleep through Crabbe and Goyle's snoring is beyond me. I felt a hand cover my mouth. I tried to yell, but then I heard someone mutter a silencing charm and there was Flint. I struggled and then he put a binding spell on me. I could still struggle, but he made sure that I couldn't hurt him or get away. And then he took me. And he made me do things. I made the mistake of biting him that night. A mistake that I did not make twice. He came to me at least three times a week after that. Until he graduated after second year. I lived for the winter and summer holidays those first two years," Draco said and a shudder tore through his body.  
  
He nearly jumped when he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him, and Harry's voice said soothing things to him, Harry's breath lightly tickling his ear as he spoke gently. Draco regained his composure, and not a tear was shed. He withdrew from Harry's arms and looked at the dark haired boy. He noticed something fierce and protective in those green eyes that he had never seen before.  
  
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Harry asked.  
  
Draco looked at him in shock. "And risk the humiliation? Merlin, I could only imagine what my father would have said if he had known. The punishment I would have endured."  
  
"What about Snape, he seems protective of you," Harry replied.  
  
"And have to face Flint afterward? That would have been worse," Draco said and then he looked at Harry and took a deep breath. "After Flint left I found that I fancied boys. It had nothing to do with him though. I found myself attracted to Blaise Zabini. We ended up in a relationship for a while, and then he wanted me to commit to him, but my father wanted to me marry and produce an heir, so I refused to meet Blaise's demands for a commitment. He went to my father and confessed everything about our relationship. Both Blaise and I were punished. For what, I am not certain, but it was over after that. That was the first time I had to endure the Cruciatus. But the torment doesn't end there. My father used to beat me. I used to have lash marks on my back from my father's whip. All of those scars are gone now that I have a new body, but they still hurt. I still feel it.  
  
"Damn you, Potter. What is it about you that makes me tell you the things that I am most ashamed of?" Draco snapped.  
  
Harry shrugged and then put his hand on Draco's shoulder. The blonde shrugged it off and then glared at him. "How can you still stand to touch me? I'm nothing."  
  
"Don't say that," Harry said. "You're stronger than you think. You're still alive, and you fought for your freedom. So, bad things have happened to you. I have scars too. But you're alive and I am alive. Doesn't that count for anything? You're beautiful, and I always thought that. I don't care about what happened to you, only that it still hurts you. And no one will ever hurt you again. I will see to that."  
  
"Why?" Draco asked.  
  
"Because I want you more than anything I've ever wanted in my life," Harry said and then leaned toward the blonde and captured the soft lips in a desperate kiss. Harry soon had Draco pinned beneath him as he kissed those soft lips and then began to trail kisses down Draco's soft feminine throat.  
  
Again Draco pushed against him and didn't stop until Harry was beneath him. Draco had Harry straddled and looked down at the black haired boy from behind a curtain of platinum hair. The boy smiled and then a sharp pain pinched his abdomen. Since he hadn't expected it he almost doubled over. Harry quickly realized the change and soon he was cradling Draco in his arms. Draco groaned and clutched at his stomach. Harry made his decision, gathered the feminine body into his arms, left the room, and hurried to the hospital wing.  
  
He kicked at the door, since Draco wasn't being helpful and he didn't have a free arm. Madam Pomfrey gave him a sharp look and then looked at Draco. She ushered the two into the hospital wing and directed Harry to put the girl down on a stretcher. Harry did as he was told and then Draco rolled over and Harry noticed a spot of blood on the stretcher. His eyes widened and then he looked at Madam Pomfrey and asked her what was wrong.  
  
The mediwitch looked at the boy, noting the worry in his eyes and sighed. "Nothing out of the ordinary Mr. Potter, just Ms. Marlowe receiving a visit from Aunt Scarlet."  
  
"What?" Harry asked.  
  
"Dear boy, I know you are not experienced with these matters, but what I am trying to tell you is that this is a delicate matter for Ms. Marlowe, honestly off with you boy, there is nothing to worry about. This is a perfectly normal occurrence for women. Ask Ms. Granger if you need any further explanation."  
  
"Are you sure that she will be all right?" Harry asked in genuine concern.  
  
Madam Pomfrey shook her head, trying to hide a small smile. "Of course I'm certain boy. Now off with you before you are late to class. I will see to Ms. Marlowe."  
  
The boy turned again to the girl on the stretcher, gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, turned to Madame Pomfrey, and the mediwitch couldn't help but notice the fierce protective look in those green eyes as the boy left. Things were certainly getting interesting.  
  
Madam Pomfrey then went to a cabinet to retrieve a potion. She pulled the stopper out and gave the bottle to the girl on the stretcher. Draco sat up a bit, wincing and looked at the bottle and then the mediwitch. The mediwitch snorted and then said, "Well, drink up. It will help with the cramping, and I'll see to fetching you some sanitary napkins, which you can take care to use in the loo. Are you still wearing that moonstone? It is used to help ease menstrual pain. And if I am correct in my assumption, which I am certain that I am, this is your first menses?"  
  
Draco's eyes widened. "You mean this is..."  
  
"A normal occurrence every month in the life of women until menopause," Madam Pomfrey finished.  
  
"Dammit!" Draco snapped and then growled, "Why not add insult to injury! How, bloody humiliating, and it had to be Harry bloody Potter that witnessed this!"  
  
"My, aren't we cranky? I'll see to getting you some more of this potion to ease the discomfort, and hopefully your ill temperament, while you adjust to this new development in your womanhood," the mediwitch said cheerfully.  
  
Draco simply glared at the woman.  
  
---------  
  
Harry hurried through the corridors as he tried to reach the dungeons before he was late to double potions. He managed to make it to class on time, although he was rather winded. He took his usual seat next to Hermione, and noticed how both Hermione and Ron turned to the door, expecting to see 'Diana'. They then looked at Harry. Hermione leaned toward him and asked about the missing Gryffindor and then Harry told her about what had transpired in the hospital wing.  
  
Hermione couldn't help the small smile that crept across her face. "Looks as though our little Diana is all grown up. I wonder how she is taking all of this."  
  
"She looked like she was in pain," Harry said and then he looked at the front of the classroom and noticed the absence of Snape. "Say, where is Snape?"  
  
As if in answer of Harry's query the surly Potion's Master walked into the classroom and looked around. Then he walked to the front of the classroom and began his lecture on the lesser-known properties of hyacinth root and its combination with centaur blood.  
  
---------  
  
"Does this," Draco snapped indicating his latest development, "mean that I have the potential to reproduce?"  
  
Madam Pomfrey almost laughed at the expression on the girl's face, and then sobered realizing that while the body was female the soul had once been male. "Yes, my dear it does. Now, you'll find a change of clothes and a sanitary napkin awaiting you in the girl's facilities. I had a house elf get some things for you. I'll answer any other questions once you have visited the facilities. Now off with you. I have to see to these sheets before there is a stain."  
  
The mediwitch couldn't help smiling at the dark look that her last comment received, as well as note the blush of embarrassment and disgruntlement. The poor thing was going to have a time of it, what with Mr. Potter so obviously enamored with her, him, Draco. The mediwitch shook her head and again her thoughts strayed to the fact that Draco Malfoy, the once proud Prince of Slytherin and heir of the Malfoy fortune, had developed into quite a woman.  
  
Again the mediwitch could not suppress a chuckle as she heard something being thrown against the wall and a stream of shocking profanity coming from behind the ladies' facilities. It was shocking how such a beautiful and elemental voice could shape such harsh words.  
  
---------  
  
"Bloody hell! Of all the humiliating things! Isn't it bad enough that I have to squat to take a piss?! Now I have to bleed like some wounded animal once every month! Oh the indignity! And this means that I could..." Draco paused in that thought. "Me, end up pregnant?! Maybe that wouldn't be so bad... Wait! What am I saying! Bloody hell! I almost gave in to Saint Potter. If it hadn't been for this I might have..."  
  
Draco groaned and then tossed the small cardboard box that contained the sanitary napkin against the wall. He sighed and then went to pick up the box. He looked over the instructions noticing that it didn't seem so complicated.  
  
He sighed and then gave in to the task his new body had set for him. All the while growling about dignity and the unbearable discomfort of it all.  
  
---------  
  
Madam Pomfrey nearly burst out laughing when Draco waddled out of the bathroom, his discomfort and displeasure more than obvious. Luckily the mediwitch possessed an extraordinary amount of control and managed to contain her laughter at the annoyed and indignant expression on the poor girl's face.  
  
He glared at the woman, noticing the mirth in her eyes. "I do not see where this is funny!" he fumed.  
  
And that was what broke the mediwitch's resolve as the laughter bubbled out of her, while the young platinum blonde woman scowled with her arms crossed. The mediwitch soon regained her composure and gave Draco several potions for the discomfort, and instructions on how to use them.  
  
"I'm sorry for my earlier outburst," Madam Pomfrey said and then she looked at the girl thoughtfully. "Seeing how this is your first occurrence of the womanly burden I will have you excused from your classes for today so that you may get used to this. Now go straight to your room and rest. And once Aunt Scarlet is done with her visit I would like you to return for a check up and then we will discuss certain potions that you may find beneficial. We wouldn't want any unexpected situations to arrive, especially where a certain Mr. Potter is concerned. And by the way, that was quite a job you did to Mr. Thomas. Luckily I had a bone-mending potion on hand. Poor boy had a broken nose among the lacerations. You certainly don't hit like a girl."  
  
Draco gave the woman a sharp look and then left the hospital wing, heading straight for Gryffindor tower, or more accurately the room he shared with Hermione. Once he was in his room he set the potions down on the bedside table between his four-poster and Hermione's, and then crawled into his bed and curled up in a fetal position, where he fell into a fitful sleep and dreams about a black haired baby with silver eyes... 


	6. Six: Haunted

Six: Haunted  
  
It was after dinner and no one had seen hide nor hair of 'Diana' since the incident from that morning and Harry hadn't seen her since he'd left her in Madam Pomfrey's care. Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked back to Gryffindor tower in silence. Once they were in the Gryffindor common room Harry began pacing. Ron just looked at his friend in confusion and Hermione was watching him with interest, no longer pretending to be interested in her book.  
  
"Honestly Harry, could you alter your pacing? The carpet is beginning to look worn," Hermione said.  
  
This stopped him in his tracks and he looked at her. She shook her head and then sighed. "If you are so worried just go up and see her. You know the password, and I'll be sure to keep little Ronniekins occupied down here so there are no intrusions. Now go."  
  
She made a shooing gesture at Harry and he practically ran up the stairs and straight for the room Hermione shared with Draco. He muttered the password ("Polyjuice potion"), and then went inside when the door opened for him. The room was dark and cold. Harry sighed and then said "Lumos." Soft light filled the room and he noticed a lump curled up on the four- poster to the left of Hermione's. He approached the bed slowly, and then looked down at its occupant.  
  
Draco was curled up into a ball on the bed, the sheets and blankets pulled up so high around him that all that was visible was the top of his platinum head. Harry smiled at the sight until he pulled the covers back and saw the look of terror on the sleeping girl's face. A whimper escaped the slightly parted lips and Harry knew without a doubt that Draco was having a nightmare.  
  
---------  
  
He knelt down upon the dark carpeted floor of his father's study. He'd already removed his shirt. He had his arms crossed against his chest, his hands on his shoulders, delicate fingers digging into the pale skin of his shoulder blades with each lash of his father's whip. He'd cried out with the first lash, but he refused to give his father the satisfaction beyond that first sign of weakness. He bit down hard on his bottom lip, as the thin strip of leather bit hotly into his back once more. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trailed down his face like tears, but he never cried.  
  
Finally his father grew tired of the torment, because he was no longer eliciting a response from the boy.  
  
The cold voice of Lucius Malfoy tainted the air. "Get up boy. You have shamed me enough tonight. Go to your room. Someone will be sent to tend your wounds. Out of my sight!"  
  
The boy, Draco, gave a terse nod, got up stiffly, and again, bit his lip until he drew blood to keep from crying out. Once the boy was on his feet he straightened as much as his injured back would allow, took his shirt from the chair he'd laid it across, and then walked out of his father's study and straight to his room. He could feel the warm blood seeping from the wounds in his back with every throbbing pulse of his heart, could feel the warm rivers of his blood streaming down his back.  
  
Once in his room he threw the shirt into a corner and collapsed face down on his bed, not caring if he soiled the sheets with his blood. Soon exhaustion brought with it comforting darkness, and then a pair of arms wrapped around him...  
  
---------  
  
Draco's eyes flew open and he tried to sit up, but couldn't. Something... No. Someone was holding him. Strong sinewy arms were wrapped around his shaking frame. He leaned against the chest that was pressed against his back and recognized it as male. Draco's back stiffened as he recalled the dream and tried to recoil from the embrace.  
  
Then a soft soothing voice was next to his ear. "You're safe, and nothing will happen to you. I won't let it."  
  
"Potter," Draco let out in one breath.  
  
"Stop fighting me. It's bad enough that I was fighting myself to realize that..."  
  
"What?" Draco said and then carefully turned in Harry's arms.  
  
"Well," Harry began sheepishly. "I care about you."  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow at this and then remembered his problem. His eyes widened and then he looked at Harry. The bloody prat just had to show up at the most opportune times.  
  
"Let me up now!" Draco snapped.  
  
Harry shocked at the sudden turn of events did as he was told and watched as Draco made a mad dash to the bathroom.  
  
Draco slammed the door of the bathroom shut and let out a relieved sigh. A woman's "condition" was less than a blessing in his eyes and he was expected to endure it for a week? Draco used the facilities as quickly as possible, then washed his hands, and upon a second thought brushed his teeth. Then upon noticing his "waddle" he gave a world-weary sigh, made an adjustment and then walked as normally as possible out of the bathroom.  
  
Harry was sitting on Draco's bed and looked up when he heard the door. Draco blushed faintly and then returned to the bed. He sent a glare Harry's way, but that hardly fazed the dark haired boy.  
  
"So..." Harry said and didn't know how to continue.  
  
"Your conversational skills never cease to amaze me, Potter," Draco snapped tiredly.  
  
Harry gave him a funny look and then asked, "What is wrong with you?"  
  
"I've become a..." Draco let out a sharp breath, and continued, voice dripping with disdain, "real woman, if you must know."  
  
"Huh?" Harry managed and then his mouth fell open and he understood immediately. "Right, I'm sorry. I've been a bit thick today. So all of this is because of the monthly visit? Doesn't sound too pleasant."  
  
Draco glared at him. "Doesn't sound pleasant? You try bleeding like a stuck pig for a week and see how you feel! Prat!"  
  
Harry's eyes widened, and he was not sure how to take that outburst so he turned to the issue of the nightmare instead. "What were you dreaming about? It looked like you were having a nightmare."  
  
"You were watching me sleep? How long were you in here?" Draco asked; his eyes narrowed in suspicion.  
  
"Only a few minutes. If you hadn't been having a nightmare I'm sure you would have looked adorable in your sleep," Harry said with a slight grin.  
  
"Slytherins never look adorable," Draco growled.  
  
Harry let out a chuckle. "Have you forgotten that you're a Gryffindor now."  
  
Draco was positively seething with anger, and he was in misery, not to mention that Harry sodding Potter was sitting across from him, on his bed, and there was little he could do about it, aside from glare at the boy in anger and frustration.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
Harry looked at the blonde and shrugged. "We could start by what is wrong with you, and then work into what I want a bit later."  
  
Just what Draco needed, an emotionally considerate Gryffindor...  
  
---------  
  
Nearly ten minutes after Harry had gone to check on Draco, a loud noise could be heard, almost like the sound of a door slamming. A few minutes later Harry crept out of the room followed by a stream of peppered obscenities yelled in a voice of frozen elemental magic. Everyone looked up at the dormitories and watched as Harry ducked and a book flew out of the open doorway and landed on the floor of the common room. Harry quickly pulled the door shut and a resonating thump could be heard as another object hit the door and then he briskly walked down the stairs, a sheepish grin on his face, and a rosy hue to his cheeks.  
  
Ron looked at the black haired boy in shock and then asked, "Bloody hell, and mum thought my mouth was bad. I never heard anything like that. What did you do to her?"  
  
Hermione smacked Ron on the shoulder and gave him a dirty look.  
  
"I don't know. She asked me what I wanted and I said I thought we should start with what was wrong with her and work on what I wanted a little later and she went mad. Never saw anything like it. Talk about a temper," Harry said with shrug.  
  
"It's her first period, you git! What do you expect?" Hermione hissed at him. "Honestly, have you thought of what must be going through that mind of hers?"  
  
Ron's eyes widened. "You mean, she's got the monthlies now? This is too rich. As if he weren't bad tempered before go and add cramps to the mess. Eew!"  
  
Hermione's nostrils flared as she drew her palm across Ron's cheek in a harsh slap.  
  
"Hey! What was that about?" he asked.  
  
"For being an inconsiderate prat. Honestly, and you have a sister! You would think you would be a bit more sensitive to the subject!" Hermione snapped.  
  
Harry was trying to bite down on his laughter. Hermione sent an icy glare his way and then went upstairs and to her room. All of the Gryffindors in the common room had watched the scene unfold with interest and many of them looked on, impressed by the bravery it took, as Hermione Granger walked up the stairs and into her room where a very angry 'Diana Marlowe' awaited. Once Hermione disappeared from sight, the Gryffindors' attention turned to Harry and Ron (who was still rubbing his smarting cheek). Both boys blushed and then turned to take a couple of seats by the fire. Everyone was interested in what had gone on with Harry and 'Diana' only moments before...  
  
---------  
  
Hermione cautiously opened her door and peered in. Once she knew it was safe she walked in and noticed Draco curled up on his bed, face in his hands. She sighed and closed the door behind her, warding it and putting a silencing charm in place. Draco looked up at the sound of the door closing.  
  
Hermione looked at the poor girl in sympathy. "I've heard about your condition. Can't be too pleasant, and being with Harry when it happened. It must have been mortifying, and then having him come in on you like he did. I shouldn't have told him to look in on you."  
  
"It's not that, although that was rather less than pleasant. Actually, he came in while I was having a nightmare, and he wanted to play the role of caring Gryffindor prat," Draco said.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes at the last comment. "With Harry that isn't an act. You know that."  
  
Draco nodded.  
  
The dark haired girl approached the blonde cautiously until she sat on the edge of the blonde's bed. She looked at the blonde and noticed the looked in the gray eyes. They looked odd...  
  
"You've been having a lot of nightmares lately. Sometimes I hear you cry out or whimper when you sleep," Hermione said gently and then she took the pale delicate hand of the blonde. "Want to talk about it?"  
  
Draco looked up at her, tears in his eyes, but he wasn't ready yet to shed them. He took a shaky breath and then let it out slowly. "The paper said I was dead. I can't help but think that I should be... Haunted. How could my body have been found when I'm right here? And there is so much in my head. People I thought I admired, even loved, and then the things that I've done that made me hate myself. I mean how can people respect someone whom they hated? I supposedly died and no one seems to care. And I've never really loved or cared about anyone beyond myself until..."  
  
"What are you saying Draco?" Hermione asked softly.  
  
Draco looked up at her and a tear slipped from his right eye and slid down his cheek, a single tear. "After eighteen years of not knowing what feelings were real and fabricated... How do I know if I'm in love? How do I know if I care for people? I know I hated Flint, and I hate my father. I thought I might have loved Blaise, but this feeling I get when I'm with Harry... I don't know what's real anymore. I don't know if I was ever Draco Malfoy or Diana Marlowe. I don't know if Harry cares about Draco or Diana, and I don't know who I am or who I should be."  
  
"You are Draco Malfoy, and that is who you need be. I haven't always liked you, or respected you, but I am now proud to call you my friend. After all that you have been through, and all you will probably go through, I find that you are the single strongest person I have ever met. And what I've seen of you and Harry together, I couldn't call it anything but love, despite the sexual innuendo you put into play just to embarrass him. You bait each other, and its like you two are drawn together... I can't even describe what it is that I sense between you and Harry, but its strong and very real," Hermione said and then on a lighter note added, "And after tonight's display, the fact that he is still worried about you is proof that he feels it too. And you don't have to worry about all of this. I won't tell anyone that you got emotional; it's probably just your hormones fluctuating. After all this is your first monthly, and finding out that your 'body' has supposedly been found cannot be good on any level."  
  
---------  
  
Ron looked at Harry as they sat down in chairs across from each other, and after giving his cheek one more final rub, he said, "Girls are bloody mental!"  
  
Harry merely nodded in agreement and then asked Ron about Ginny.  
  
Ron shook his head and ran a hand through his bright red hair. "She's still at home. Mum hasn't let her out of her sight. She won't reveal the father. If I ever find out who did that to her, I'll..." Ron finished off that thought by balling up his fist and slamming it into his hand.  
  
Harry looked at Ron and then patted the redhead's knee in a gesture of support. "Did she ever say what happened? Do you recall any of her boyfriends?"  
  
"No," Ron said irritably. "I don't think it was a boyfriend. I... I think she was attacked."  
  
"Attacked?" Harry asked. "But that isn't what she told your mum or dad."  
  
"I know, but it's these looks she sometimes gets. Ginny isn't careless. She wouldn't have allowed herself to get pregnant. I know my sister. You've seen how close we are. I bet it happened that day when she disappeared in Diagon Alley and didn't come home until the day after. Bloody hell, I wish she'd say something," Ron sighed.  
  
"I'm sure she will when she's ready. I'm just surprised your mum pulled her out of school," Harry said.  
  
"I'm not," Ron replied. "She wanted Ginny to have her full support through it all. She's watched Gin like a hawk, she has."  
  
"Your mum has always been protective."  
  
"Sometimes she over does it though."  
  
"I wish I could have known if my mom were like yours. I suppose she was very protective of me. I mean she did die for me," Harry spoke softly and looked up at Ron. Ron looked at Harry in sympathy.  
  
"Bloody hell, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," Ron tried to apologize awkwardly.  
  
"No," Harry said. "It's not you. It's just these things in my head..."  
  
"It's not your scar acting up is it?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry shook his head. "No... It's like I'm haunted. There are so many things in my head, lives that have mattered and its almost like they weren't real. My parents, Cedric, Sirius, it's almost like I have their voices in my head telling me things, or I see Sirius or Cedric rounding a corner only I know it couldn't be them. I haven't had feelings like this since right after Sirius... I think it might have to do with Draco... His voice, the way it used to be, is in my head and I hear him taunting me and teasing me and then I see him now, and hear that voice, it's like magic, and then I remember things I thought I'd forgotten. What is he doing to me?"  
  
Ron looked at his friend, unsure of how to answer, but Harry sighed and then shook his head, obviously not expecting an answer from his friend.  
  
---------  
  
After his talk with Hermione, Draco felt somewhat better. He had come to two conclusions. He was in love with Harry Potter. And he was Draco Malfoy, despite anything his father or anyone else had to say. Diana Marlowe was the fabrication, the reflection. Draco was real.  
  
He sighed and curled up under the covers. Having that talk with Granger... No, Hermione, had really helped him. How had he ever been so cruel to her in the past? He had a lot to atone for to her and to Harry. Weasley could go and bite him for all he cared on that front. That was when a terrible thought occurred to him.  
  
Weasley. Bright red hair on the dark carpet in his father's study. He had seen the strands almost glowing in the fire from the fireplace. The blood drained from his face and cold realization hit him. He hadn't seen the youngest Weasley at school this year. Where was she?  
  
Sleep pulled Draco ruthlessly into darkness as these new questions haunted his thoughts. How could long strands of bright red hair find their way on the carpet in his father's study? What sins of the father would he have to pay for?  
  
---------  
  
It was getting late by the time Harry and Ron went upstairs and to their dormitory. Both boys slipped into their pajamas and then into their respected four-posters. Harry set his glasses down on his bedside table, and was just drifting off to sleep when he heard Ron's voice.  
  
"Harry, do you think Ginny will ever tell me the truth?"  
  
"You two have always been close. I'm sure when she is ready you'll be the first one she tells. Now go to sleep Ron. It doesn't do any good to dwell on things and we have Double Potions in the morning. Can you imagine what Snape would do if you fell asleep in his class?"  
  
"Would that be before or after the aneurysm?" Ron asked, a light humor in his voice.  
  
"Go to bed," Harry answered.  
  
"Night Harry."  
  
"Sod off, Ronniekins."  
  
With that Harry pulled the blankets up over his head and something began to nag at the back of his head, and he wondered just what had happened to Ginny Weasley. Still sleep was demanding and ruthless, as darkness crashed in waves against Harry's consciousness. 


	7. Seven: Don't Speak

Seven: Don't Speak  
  
Pale delicate fingers played in the soft green grass by the lake. A smile played on the petal soft pale pink lips of the enchanting young woman, her platinum hair flowing tenderly in the wind's gentle embrace. Her eyes were closed as she took in a deep breath, and then the bright midday sky darkened around her. Cold began to whisper lightly across her pale skin. Her eyes snapped open, silver eyes took in their surroundings and a shock coursed up her spine, making her more wary. There was a sound to her right, she turned toward it and froze.  
  
She was looking at a young man with platinum blond hair, and silvery gray eyes, much like her own. He was wearing black trousers that blended with the night and a dark blue silk shirt, the button at his throat left undone. The boy looked down at her, peace reflected in his eyes and a slight smirk on his lips.  
  
The familiar voice fell from his lips, "Know who you are Draco. You have your freedom, was it worth the cost?"  
  
The girl looked up at the boy, tears shining in her eyes, her body trembled and she blinked, a single tear trailing her cheek. She reached up and her delicate fingers brushed the larger delicate hand of the boy, the hand that almost mirrored her own.  
  
"There is no going back is there?" she asked.  
  
The boy shook his head. "I told you that in the beginning, boy. Now tell me what you intend to do with this freedom."  
  
The girl looked up at the boy in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Your wish was for him. You have him so close in your grasp. I merely gave you the means to capture him." The boy smiled mischievously, and the girl looked up at him, wondering when she had that body if she had ever smiled like that. "He would have loved you, whatever your form, but you had to be free to love him in return."  
  
"Who... What are you?" asked the girl, a slight tremor in her elemental voice.  
  
The boy smiled at her and then knelt before her, his hand lightly caressing her cheek. His silvery eyes laughing at her as he spoke, "I was your reflection, and then you gave me the brief bliss of life, and now you have before you a new destiny, where I ended your old one. As I told you once before. Do not deny your heart. And know this, my young Dragon, I am timeless, and you need never thank me, for I received thanks enough for my brief tryst in the mortal world. Oh, and you have one other question."  
  
The girl looked at him puzzled and then her eyes widened. "What sins of my father will I be left to pay?"  
  
The girl then looked down at the ground, but the boy, that look so much like her, took her chin in his delicate fingers and lifted her face. He lightly pressed his lips against the girl's pale pink mouth and then she felt his breath against her lips as he said, "Know only your heart and do not deny the dark haired one, and know that it was never the young girl's fault. That girl with fire in her hair will have a hard time ahead of her. That is all I can tell you now. You have a most intriguing life ahead of you, and now I leave you to discover your destiny on your own."  
  
The boy stood and turned to walk away from her.  
  
She called after him, "Wait!"  
  
He turned and looked at her, a twinkle in his eye as he raised an eyebrow at her. "You do know that I have one other to visit?"  
  
She nodded and then he looked toward the midnight heavens and back to her. "You are Draco Malfoy, and you will reclaim your name when the time is right. Now, let this past and me go..."  
  
His voice faded on the wind as the world was plunged into darkness...  
  
---------  
  
Draco sat up in bed, his heart pounding and his hand coming up to his mouth, fingers tracing his lips. It had felt so real. What had his reflection meant? Was the girl with fire in her hair Ginny Weasley? What had his father done?  
  
And when could he possibly reclaim his name for the entire world to know?  
  
When could he be Draco Malfoy again? Even if he would be Draco Malfoy in a beautiful woman's body?  
  
---------  
  
Harry Potter was lying on his back staring up at the dark sky. His fingers were interlaced and his hands rested behind his head. He had a content smile on his face, and for once he felt at peace with the world. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes his breath came out in a rush, as his eyes met the gray gaze of Draco Malfoy, a male Draco Malfoy.  
  
Harry tried to sit up, but he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw a smirk and a sardonically raised eyebrow on the blonde's face. There was almost a challenge written in the soft angles of that face.  
  
"Well, Potter, it seems that I have a message for you. One you might find most interesting," the boy said.  
  
Harry looked at the firm hand on his shoulder and noticed that the boy had him straddled, pinned beneath him. "Malfoy?"  
  
The boy shook his head. "Not anymore. She is Draco Malfoy now. I am only a reflection. I have done my task, given her freedom for you, although I am certain that was not the original intent of the sender of my stone. Now, Mr. Potter, you are destined for great things. One of which is to know love, and you have been guided in the right direction. As for you friend, Mr. Weasley, watch him carefully and know that it was not her fault. What happened to the girl with fiery hair, your Ginny, was beyond her control. Protect her, and the child she carries, for that child will have meaning to Draco."  
  
"How do you know this?" Harry asked.  
  
"Fate has deemed me worthy enough to know and to pass on my knowledge to an extent. Now do not dwell on what is past. Look to your future, look to her, and know your heart," the blonde said.  
  
Then the blonde leaned down until his soft lips pressed again Harry's in a chaste kiss. Harry tried to wrap his arms around the boy, but he couldn't move. He tried to deepen the kiss by opening his mouth, but the lips were gone as quickly as they had been placed there. Harry opened his eyes, wondering when he had closed them. His green eyes met silver eyes in frustration.  
  
The blonde smirked down at him and then stood up. Delicate masculine hands smoothed the dark blue silk shirt into perfection, the button at his throat left unbuttoned and the black trousers blended with the darkness. The boy was the picture of immaculate perfection.  
  
Harry's breathing grew sharper and came in quick pants as he looked at the boy. "Please." The strangled murmur escaped his lips before he could stop it. The blond looked at him and shook his head.  
  
"Do not cast your love on a reflection, boy. I am not worthy of it. Not when there is the real soul. This is what once was; do not love the past, because that would make you a fool. Love what you can have..." And with that the voice faded on the wind and darkness poured over Harry's vision.  
  
---------  
  
Harry sat up in bed, his breath ragged and choked, as he recalled the vision of the rival that he had grown to love. He took a deep breath trying to regain his composure, but his heartbeat refused to slow.  
  
Why had Draco's reflection come to him, and why had he desired the boy so much? Harry closed his eyes and recalled what the reflection had told him.  
  
"Love what you can have..."  
  
He could have Draco, and with Draco's new form he could have what he always wanted...a family. Was it possible that he could have two of the things he most wanted? Harry shook himself trying to clear his mind. He still felt as though he'd just finished running a marathon.  
  
---------  
  
A week had passed since Draco's dream of his reflection, and he sighed, because he'd had no further dreams of his former male body. Why would fate let such beautiful male perfection be lost to the world? Draco sighed to himself and then rolled over in his four-poster. He sat up and his small feminine feet tentatively touched the cold stones of his room. Draco sighed and muttered a warming charm that surrounded his feet and kept them warm. He went to the trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out some undergarments, a pair of black trousers a dark blue silk shirt (something he'd transfigured from one of his silky nightgowns, a pair of black socks and then smirked as he went to the bathroom. He looked around the room at the four-poster that belonged to Hermione and noticing that the bathroom door was open, he knew that she'd already left. Luckily it was a Saturday, a day of freedom from homework and other school pressures.  
  
Draco smiled at the thought of a nice luxurious shower. He walked into the bathroom, set his clothing down on the counter, shut, locked, and warded the door, and then stripped himself of the nightgown and panties. Then he stepped into the shower. He gently spoke that spell that activated the faucets and then moaned as the water firmly pressed against his skin and slid down the supple curves of his feminine body. He sighed and wondered when he had gotten used to being trapped in the body of a woman.  
  
He picked up the soap and began lathering his body, then he turned to the spray to rinse, and finally set out to washing his hair. He used Hermione's herbal scented shampoo, the sweet scent of jojoba permeating the air and he worked the shampoo into his hair. He rinsed his long platinum hair a few moments later and then used the conditioner, which complimented the shampoo. Once he was clean and rinsed he said the charm to turn the faucet off and then muttered a drying charm on his hair and body. Although, he couldn't stop the smirk that played across his lips at the though of Harry using the conventional muggle method of drying him off.  
  
Draco then looked in a mirror taking in the sight of his body. He was one beautiful woman, if he had any say in the matter. He sighed and then pulled on his undergarments. Fastening the bra like a pro, then he slipped his delicate feet into the black socks, pulled on the black trousers, and then put on the dark blue silk shirt leaving the button at the throat unfasten. He left his hair down and admired how the platinum hair complimented the midnight blue of the shirt. He then brushed his teeth, removed the wards from the door, unlocked it, and walked out of the bathroom. He was headed toward his trunk to slip his boots on when he heard the gasp from the direction of one of the red plush chairs by the fire.  
  
He turned to face the direction of the gasp and his silvery gray eyes met green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses. The black haired boy in the chair stood up, his mouth slightly agape, as he looked over the young woman that had just stepped out of the bathroom, and his eyes met the gray eyes that betrayed her true identity, for she was, without a doubt, Draco Malfoy.  
  
The gray eyes looked the dark haired boy up and down, slowly drinking him in, enjoying the pleasure of the sight of him, in their own leisure. Then a platinum brow rose in interest, as velvety words entwined in a melodious elemental voice fell from the young woman's lips, "To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr. Potter?"  
  
Harry shook himself at her words and then spoke before he realized what he was saying, "You're dressed like him. How did you know?"  
  
"Like who?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Your reflection," he stated simply.  
  
Draco's gray eyes widened. "How would you know about my reflection?"  
  
"He... It came to me about a week ago, dressed like you are now," Harry answered.  
  
The blonde nodded. "He told me he had to visit another, but I never thought it would be you."  
  
"He told me..." Harry began, but he was cut off as Draco crossed the room and put a delicate finger on Harry's lips and murmured, "Shhh... Don't speak."  
  
Harry looked down into those intense silvery eyes and felt his heartbeat quicken, his breath coming out in short terse gasps, his blood boil. How could having Draco so close to him elicit such a reaction?  
  
"But," Harry tried again, his lips moving against those pale delicate fingers and this resulted in Draco raising his eyebrow once again.  
  
"You know, a Malfoy does not enjoy having to repeat themselves. Now, I thought I told you..." Draco said and was cut off as Harry removed the hand and bent down capturing those pale pink lips in a kiss.  
  
As Harry's tongue traced Draco's bottom lip the blonde gave in and opened his mouth to the dark haired boy. Draco's tongue met Harry's in a fierce battle for dominance and both drew back panting a few moments later. Harry's eyes dark with desire, and triumph, as he noticed the dreamy expression in the blonde's silver gray gaze. Harry smirked as he whispered, "Don't speak," against the soft pale pink lips of Draco Malfoy.  
  
This broke the dreamy reverie in the blonde's gray eyes. He looked up at Harry and then put his hand on the boy's chest and pushed him back.  
  
"You will not win so easily, Potter!" the blonde snapped, and Harry looked down at the feminine body that housed the soul of Draco Malfoy.  
  
"And you can stop me?" Harry asked challengingly and then added, "But you've never beaten me before."  
  
"This isn't Quidditch, Potter, and I thought you were the one that said what we had between us wasn't a game," Draco smirked.  
  
"But you mentioned winning," Harry retorted.  
  
Draco narrowed his eyes. "You're insufferable, do you know that Potter?"  
  
"I do now."  
  
Draco made an inarticulate sound, spun around, walked over to his four- poster slipped his delicate feet into his boots, and walked out of the door leaving a very satisfied, yet frustrated, Harry Potter alone in Draco and Hermione's room. Draco walked down the stairs and into the common room. Many Gryffindors were hesitant, as they hadn't forgotten 'Diana's' outburst from a week earlier when she'd broken Dean Thomas' nose and threw things at Harry Potter. The Gryffindors were wary, unsure of the temperament of the silvery golden girl with the black magic voice, the voice that rang with the power of a love spell, and yet sounded so calm, like cool rushing water over facetted crystals.  
  
Draco looked around and spotted Hermione and Ron seated across from each other in two of the four plush red chairs by the fireplace. Draco decided to join them and took the available seat next to Hermione. They started talking animatedly, Ron curious as to the whereabouts of Harry and Hermione curiously about the plump, chapped, appearance of Draco's lips.  
  
Hermione smiled knowingly as she handed Draco a tube of chapstick, which he put to good use and was pleasantly surprised when he found that it tasted like cherries. He smiled at her gratefully and handed the chapstick back to her. A few minutes later a bewildered Harry came sauntering down the stairs and somehow drifted over to the fireplace where he fell into the red chair next to Ron, looking pleasantly flushed.  
  
Hermione looked from Draco to Harry's flustered state and her eyebrows rose in curiosity. She wasn't the only one to notice the difference in Harry's behavior. A few of the other Gryffindors walked over to see what was wrong with Harry. They gave him funny looks at the odd glazed expression in his green eyes and the chapped condition of his lips. Someone had obviously been snogging, and then they turned pointed looks to 'Diana'. Draco simply smirked at them and that smirk caught Ron's attention.  
  
Ron looked from Draco to Harry, and then back to Draco.  
  
"Bloody hell! What did you do to him? He looks like a he's been hit with a giddiness charm! There is no cursing our fellow housemates!" Ron scolded him.  
  
Draco's eyes widened in indignation. "I did no such think to the silly prat!"  
  
Hermione simply looked at Harry and then at Ron and started laughing. Ron looked at her and then asked, "And just what is so funny, Mione?"  
  
"Oh, how thick can you be, Ron?" she wheezed.  
  
He looked at her and then he looked back at Harry and his eyes widened as he noticed the condition of Harry's lips, and then once again looked back at Draco, shaking his head and muttering to himself.  
  
Draco looked at him an eyebrow raised in calculation. "You know, muttering to yourself is one of the first signs of impending madness. What are you on about, Weasley?"  
  
"It's Ron, you bloody prat, and how could a kiss result in this!" Ron snapped and then indicated the blissfully prone form of his dark haired, bespectacled, green-eyed friend.  
  
Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "I wish I knew, because if I could bottle that in a potion, the women would be lining up around the counter to buy it."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's reply and again found herself laughing at Ron's reaction.  
  
"Mental! Bloody mental," Ron said shaking his head.  
  
"You shouldn't put yourself down like that Ron, it is most unbecoming of Gryffindors," Draco said with a smirk.  
  
Ron sent a glare his way and then turned back to Harry. "Come on mate, tell me what he did to you. Harry, are you in there? Oh, bloody hell, you've gone and put him in a blissful coma! I say we take him to see Madam Pomfrey!"  
  
Suddenly Harry's hand shot up and he pressed his index finger against Ron's lips and said, "Shhh, don't speak."  
  
Ron and Hermione looked at their dark haired friend in bewilderment and confusion, while Draco laughed until tears were in his gray eyes. Harry Potter was some piece of work.  
  
Ron and Hermione noticed Draco laughing and then turned to him. He looked up at their demanding expressions and the laughter bubbled up in him anew, released like music from his feminine mouth, until he finally gained enough control to say, "Looks as though Gryffindors don't mind repeating themselves."  
  
And then he descended into his laughing hysteria once again, while Harry simply continued to smile wistfully. Hermione and Ron looked at each other, certain that they would never understand the musings of Draco Malfoy, and wondering what was to become of their friend under the blonde's influence... 


	8. Eight: All This and Nothing

Eight: All This and Nothing  
  
January passed by in a blur and soon it was February with Valentine's day looming a week away and Dumbledore announcing a Valentine's day ball for fourth years and above. Dumbledore had made the announcement at dinner and Draco had nearly fallen out of his seat. He looked up to see Snape's reaction and noticed the scowl on the Potion Master's face.  
  
Of course it was Harry that finally sent Draco tumbling out of his seat and onto his rear in front of the whole student body. After Dumbledore's announcement Harry leaned over until his breath was tickling Draco's ear, sending shivers up the blonde's spine, and asked in a breathless whisper, "Care to go to the ball with me?"  
  
Draco's eyes had widened and he had pushed back from the table and landed in a heap on his delicate rear. Everyone in Great Hall turned to look at the commotion and Draco noticed the raised eyebrow and questioning expression of one Severus Snape. A faint flush colored his face and Harry was up in a moment offering his hand to help the girl, Draco Malfoy, up. She scowled, swatted his hand away, and stood on her own accord.  
  
"Potter, if you ever startle me like that again expect to receive a certain part of your anatomy in one of Snape's specimen jars for your sodding birthday! Bloody prat! Out of my way!" Draco snapped, gave Harry a little shove, and then immediately left Great Hall.  
  
The students watched in stunned silence, Snape was secretly amused, and Dumbledore's twinkle was brighter than ever.  
  
Harry gathered what little dignity was left him, sat back on the bench, a faint rosy hue to his cheeks, and returned to eating his dinner. He could feel the eyes of everyone on him and sighed as he looked up and asked, "What?"  
  
Seamus Finnigan took it upon himself to ask the question burning in the back of everyone's throat, "So, what did you say to her?"  
  
Harry looked down at his plate and grumbled his answer. But no one understood him, and Seamus asked him to repeat what he said and Harry's head snapped up and he practically yelled, "All I did was ask her to the ball, all right?!"  
  
Once again Great Hall was plunged into silence as Harry Potter's words rang in the air. Then a collective laugh replaced Harry's words and Harry tossed down his knife and fork and immediately left the laughter and Great Hall behind.  
  
Hermione looked at Ron, trying to fight back the laughter and said, "I think that went well."  
  
Ron just shook his head. "Mental."  
  
Hermione reached out and swatted Ron on the back of the head and he looked up with a start. "Bloody hell! What was that for?"  
  
Hermione glared at him, threw down her napkin, and then stormed out of Great Hall, leaving a bewildered Ron with his fork hanging halfway to his mouth. Seamus, Dean, and Neville looked at the red head curiously and Ron shook himself and then said, "Just leave off. I'd like to finish my dinner before I'm expected to storm off."  
  
The three boys looked at each other and shared a grin as they glanced back at Ron who was pointedly ignoring them and finishing off his mince pie. Once Ron had effectively cleaned off his plate Dean piped up. "Who you taking to the ball?"  
  
Ron glared at the boy and snapped, "Bloody hell! I was going for seconds and you made me lose my appetite!"  
  
With that the redhead stormed off and left his fellow Gryffindors laughing in his wake. He was fuming by the time he reached the Gryffindor common room. He gave the room a quick glance over and noticed it was empty. He then headed up to the seventh year boy's dormitory and walked in. He noticed Harry lying on his back on his four-poster, his arm across his eyes, and his glasses on the bedside table.  
  
"What happened Harry?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry moved his arm back and turned his head to look at his best friend. "I wish I knew Ron. I thought..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I thought he was ready. I mean after that kiss nothing has really happened between us, but I thought with the ball that maybe I had my chance. Merlin! What is wrong with me?"  
  
Ron's eyes widened. "Harry, you're not..."  
  
Harry turned sharp green eyes on his friend as he watched Ron swallow thickly before continuing, "In love with him are you?"  
  
"And Hermione says you're thick."  
  
Ron's eyes widened and he paled. "Bloody hell. I can understand being attracted to that body, I mean he makes a gorgeous woman, but to actually be in love with him! With the ferret face? Oi, and I thought girls were mental."  
  
"Thanks, Ron," Harry replied sarcastically.  
  
"Sorry mate, but we are talking about Malfoy!"  
  
"Draco," Harry spoke in a breathless sigh.  
  
"Have you gone nutters? It's Malfoy we're on about! Malfoy! The same sodding little prat that used to torment us! Take away the manhood and give him a killer woman's body, but it still doesn't change him!"  
  
Harry smiled sheepishly. "I know Ron, but I think I might have loved him before this all happened. I mean you remember the first Quidditch game of the season when he fell?"  
  
Ron shuddered. "Do you have to remind me? I'd rather not recall seeing my best male friend in the middle of a cold shower!"  
  
The dark haired boy rolled his eyes. "Well, remember how he was unconscious? That night I snuck out and went to the hospital wing. I wanted to make sure he was all right. I pulled up a chair and sat by his bed the entire night. He never woke up."  
  
"You w-w-what?!" Ron sputtered. "What made you stay?"  
  
"He looked so peaceful lying there asleep. He had this dreamy smile on his face and his hair wasn't gelled for once and it looked so soft. I just wanted to look at him, I suppose. And then..." Harry paused and took a breath before continuing, "he called my name. I couldn't make myself leave after that. He was still asleep, but he'd called out my name."  
  
The redhead looked at his friend incredulously. "Sometimes I don't get you, mate."  
  
"I fell asleep at some point, though. Madame Pomfrey woke me up and sent me on my way. She gave me a bit of a scolding and told me that 'Mr. Malfoy' would be just fine. It must have been about five in the morning when I got back to bed."  
  
Ron just stared at his friend as if seeing him for the first time. How was it that his best friend had fallen in love with there mutual rival? It was almost as impossible as Draco Malfoy being a girl, but the impossible was happening a lot lately...  
  
---------  
  
Draco was lying face down on his bed when he heard the door of the room open. He groaned and then said, "Harry, if that is you, go away!"  
  
Hermione cleared her throat and Draco finally turned his head to look at the door and saw the girl standing in the doorway. He noticed the faint smile on the girl's lips as she carefully approached the four-poster that held the unpredictable feminine presence of Draco Malfoy.  
  
"What do you want?" Draco snapped.  
  
"Did Harry really ask you to the ball?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then why did you leave like that? A simple yes or no would have been enough."  
  
"How can I go to a ball," Draco sneered in disgust as he rolled over, sat up, and looked down at his female body in contempt. "Looking like this?"  
  
"How can you not? You're gorgeous, and we've a week to find a gown or robes suitable enough for the occasion. You and Harry would look wonderful going together, and it's amazing that he managed to ask you. Usually he get's so tongue tied around girls," Hermione replied.  
  
Draco smirked. "But I'm not really a girl am I? Not on the inside. I only have the body of a girl. Dammit! Who, in bloody hell, gave me this stone?!"  
  
Draco grabbed the stone that hung at his throat. He gave the stone a jerk, breaking the chain, and tossed it across the room. Hermione watched the blonde with interest, and then a soft bluish glow came from the corner where the stone landed. Suddenly a young man that looked astonishingly like the blonde girl on the bed appeared, and Hermione's mouth fell opened as she realized with a shock that the boy was Draco Malfoy.  
  
The boy walked toward the blonde girl and placed a hand on the blonde's trembling shoulder. She looked up with a start, her mouth gaping. She quickly regained her composure and then asked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Why do you regret your gift? You have every thing you wanted right at your fingertips," he spoke gently.  
  
The girl looked up with fire burning in her silver eyes. "All this and nothing! What do I have? All I have is this bloody body! I'm still me inside! How could anyone want that? Want me? It's all in my reach, but it can all be taken away from me! I thought you were supposed to make this easier! That was my wish! For freedom, for an easier way to live!"  
  
The boy smirked down at the girl, and Hermione felt her gut clench at the sight of that smirk on it's male counterpart, how often had she seen that smirk on that beautiful male face?  
  
"Draco, I never said it would be easier. Life is never easy. You have your freedom and you can have your heart. Why do you push it away?" the boy asked.  
  
"And why would a reflection care so much?" Draco snarled.  
  
The reflection raised an eyebrow and let out a snort. "I am more than your reflection. I am your guide. I have been leading you to the other half of your soul. You are the darkness, he is the light. You need both halves to be whole, and so does he. You don't have to let him win to give in. Just let go, and see where it takes you. You may be pleasantly surprised. And Granger, close your mouth, unless you intention is catching flies."  
  
Draco's back suddenly went rigid as he realized Hermione was in the room. He felt his hand being taken by his reflection, and then felt his hand being closed around something. Then the reflection's voice, Draco's old voice filled the room, "Good luck young Draco, for you are meant to know the darkness and the light, as very few ever do. So privileged you are, my young friend."  
  
Draco turned around quickly, but his reflection was gone. He looked down at the feminine hand, closed in a fist, and then he slowly opened up his hand. His eyes widened as he stared down at the milky blue moonstone, clutched in the silver talon, and he noticed the chain was still intact. He swallowed thickly and then slipped the delicate chain about his neck, fastened the clasp, and let out a breath, he hadn't realized he'd been holding, when the stone rested comfortably, once again, at the base of his throat.  
  
He then turned to Hermione and that old smirk played across feminine lips. "It looks as though I shall be attending that ball after all."  
  
Hermione could only nod. She was still in shock at encountering Draco's reflection first hand.  
  
---------  
  
That weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend in honor of the ball. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Draco ended up going into Hogsmeaded together. Their first stop was at the Three Broomsticks for a serving of butterbeer, and then the boys headed toward Zonko's joke shop and Draco and Hermione entered a robe shop. They looked around and found a few they liked, but none that really caught their eyes. Draco left the shop feeling a bit forlorn. The ball was tonight and still he had no idea what he was going to wear. He'd relented to being Harry's "date" much to Harry's utter and complete shock, and being the Malfoy that he was, he wanted to look stunning, and had to find the perfect gown or robes that showed off his amazing female physique.  
  
Eventually Hermione and Draco met back up with the boys and together they walked back to Hogwarts. Hermione noticing how Draco kept sighing. Hermione let a small smile grace her lips, as she wondered how Draco would take the surprise that she had waiting for him in her wardrobe...  
  
---------  
  
Hermione knocked on the bathroom door and got an answer, "What? I don't know why you insisted on me getting ready when I have absolutely nothing to wear, and we only have fifteen minutes to be downstairs! I should never have let you talk me into this!"  
  
"I have something for you if you would only open the door!" Hermione snapped. Curious, Draco opened the door and a crack and peaked out, and then he noticed the white silk she held.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
"A present from me to you and Harry," Hermione said with a smile.  
  
Draco looked from her to the gown and then took it from her. He held it up and gave it a once over and couldn't help the smile on his face. It was simple, elegant, but simple. The gown left his shoulders covered and his arms bare, and fell down his body in a cool shiver, the silk clinging to the lush curves of breasts, and tapered at the waist, and the skirt trailed from the waist until the hem swished against the marble floor of the bathroom, and then Draco noticed the two slits of the gown that ran all the way up to mid thigh.  
  
Draco looked at the reflection appreciatively and saw the beautiful girl with platinum hair and silvery eyes, dressed in the silk gown. His hair flowed down his back and the only make up he wore was a bit of gloss and black eyeliner. He stepped out of the bathroom and saw Hermione in an elegant gown of a pale rose colored hue that made her appear faitly flushed. Her hair was pulled up in elegant curls and waves, and she looked lovely. Draco smiled and noticed how Hermione was looking at him in the dress.  
  
"Oh, goddess! You are going to be mobbed!" the dark haired girl said with a wicked gleam in her eye.  
  
"I'm sure that Saint Potter will protect me," Draco said with a smirk and then added, "Or die trying."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes and then handed Draco a pair of soles with two thin white leather strips attached to them. He looked from what he supposed were shoes to Hermione. She shook her head, told him to sit down, and then she knelt down and after a few moments of crisscrossing the leather strips up to midcalf of Draco's legs she had the sandals tied, and had to admit that the Greek sandal look worked for the blonde. Draco's delicate feminine feet looked beautiful in the sandals.  
  
Then Hermione's eyes widened and she felt the need to warn Draco. "While wearing these shoes, under no cirmstance..."  
  
Draco finished for her, "should I dance with Longbottom."  
  
Hermione giggled at the thought and a platinum eyebrow rose in her direction. "Oh, you act as though all the boys will want to dance with me. If I am the catch that you say I am, I highly doubt that Potter would relinquish my prescence to anyone else."  
  
"Deep within that lovely Gryffindor body lies the arrogant soul of a Slytherin," Hermione said with a wistful sigh.  
  
Draco smirked. "And don't you forget it!"  
  
Once the two of them were ready to leave, Hermione had to slip into her pale rose colored slippers, the two left the room and descended the stairs into the common room together to meet their dates who awaited them at the foot of the stairs. A collective gasp sounded throughout the common room as they descended and then the two boys, in dress robes, awaiting the arrival of their dates turned to look at the stairs. Ron's paled as he took in the faint flushed sight of Hermione, and Harry's eyes widened and his mouth fell open at the sight of Draco, the girl, in the white gown, long milky supple legs peaking out of the slits on either side of the gown, the silk clinging to every curve and crevice of the blonde, and long platinum hair flowing down the girl's back and swishing back and forth against the girl's tapered waist that was curving deliciously, hypnotically like a cobra's dance, with every step the girl, Draco, took.  
  
"An open mouth is most unbecoming of you, Mr. Potter. If it weren't for my close acquaintance to Ms. Granger I would request that Mr. Weasley escort me to the ball, considering your current expression," Draco spoke, and his words hung thick and succulent, as a love spell, in the air.  
  
Harry quickly closed his mouth and offered his arm to Draco, who took it with a smirk. Ron and Hermione left Gryffindor tower first, followed by Harry and 'Diana' and much speculation of the third, second, and first year Gryffindors who were left in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
The two couples reached the entrance of Gryffindor tower. Ron looked down at Hermione a smile glowing on his face, and Harry took Draco's hand and brought it to his lips. Draco looked up at Harry, silvery eyes trying to figure out what was going on behind those glasses and bewildering green eyes.  
  
The two couples entered Great Hall together and there was many a collected gasp at the sight of Harry and 'Diana', even Severus' eyes widened in shock at Draco's appearance.  
  
"Bloody hell! What is the boy thinking! Wearing something like that? He is going to be mobbed for certain! Potter is up for a fight to keep his date," Severus muttered to himself.  
  
"What was that?" Professor McGonagall said from beside him.  
  
When had the woman took to standing there? How long had she been there? He looked down the bridge of his nose at her and sneered. "Nothing, just wondering why Albus insists that I attend these little functions."  
  
Ron managed to drag Hermione over to where refreshments were being served, leaving Harry alone with Draco. Harry swallowed thickly, unsure of how to proceed or even what to say. When had he ever been so speechless before. Then a slight moan escaped his lips as he felt delicate fingers curl in his hair at the nape of his neck, fingertips drawing soft circles into his skull. His breathing quickened and then he turned to Draco, unsure of what to read in the glittery dark silver eyes.  
  
Draco looked up at Harry, taking a deep breath and sighing with a shake of his head. "I honestly believe that you tried to make an effort with your unruly hair. Actually I suppose I like it better this way. Wild and natural... Free."  
  
"Right," Harry said and closed his eyes, feeling utterly stupid and then he shook himself and looked back down at his stunning date. "Care to dance?"  
  
Draco gave him a skeptical look and then said, "Just avoid my toes and let me know if the count gets to complicated, so I can take over the lead."  
  
A waltz filled Great Hall, the source unknown. The music was haunting and ethreal, Draco smiled, recognizing the compelling musical notes of Mozart's "Green Sleeves". Harry placed one hand around Draco's waist, and Draco placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, and then Harry took Draco's free hand in his own, mirroring the perfect stance of an elegant, formal, and old fashioned waltz, but as they glided about the room in steps of twos and threes their positions became less formal and more intimate as they were drawn helplessly closer, until Draco's head was leaning against Harry's chest. And then Draco began to speak, his voice soft, ethreal and crystaline like the music, blending a strange spell:  
  
"Mine eye hath play'd the painter, and hath stell'd Thy beauty's form in table of my heart; My body is the frame wherein 'tis held, And perspective it is best painter's art. For through the painter must you see his skill, To find where your true image pictur'd lies, Which in my bosom's shop is hanging still, That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes. Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done: Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me Are windows to my breast, where-through the sun Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee; Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art, They draw but what they see, know not the heart."  
  
Harry gave Draco a strange contemplating look, and noticed the faint flush on the girl's cheeks as silver-gray eyes looked up at him, trying to read a reaction on his face, and those same silver-gray eyes widened in shock, probably in fear of revealing too much.  
  
The music faded and was gone, and Draco tried to break from Harry's embrace, but the dark haired boy was not letting go so easily. Draco began to struggle and wiggle, but Harry's arms were firm as green eyes locked with silver.  
  
"What are you trying tell me?" Harry asked.  
  
The girl in his arms looked away. "I have been obsessed for too long. Let me go, Harry, please."  
  
Harry tried to reach for the perfectly angled chin to turn that beautiful face back to him, but Draco took that opportunity to push out of the embrace and run from Great Hall. Harry stood stunned for a moment and looked around, noticing the bewildered stares he received from the students and was chilled by the withering glare from the Potions Master. Harry gritted his teeth and balled up his fists in resolution. He was going to end this game tonight. He stormed out of Great Hall, to go after Draco. He didn't have far to go. He heard the panting from the direction of the stairway. And sure enough once he rounded the corner, there sat Draco on the third, his right leg showing up to his thigh from the slit in the white gown.  
  
Harry sighed and then took a seat on the second step stretching out in much the same position as Draco and then looked at the slender form of the beautiful girl that had once been the boy that had been his worst school rival.  
  
Draco refused to meet Harry's eyes.  
  
Harry let out a melodramatic sigh and then reached for the slender delicate hand of the girl and to his surprise she let him hold it. He then began to rub small circles into the delicate palm, relishing the feel of the soft warm skin against his tough and calloused fingers.  
  
"Why do you insist on fighting me? Only a few weeks ago you were teasing me and leading me on, and now you avoid me like I'm some sort of plague. What makes you so hot and cold?" He asked.  
  
Silver eyes snapped up at that comment. "How dare you Potter. Up until I started being 'hot and cold' as you put it, I hadn't thought everything through. I didn't know what it was to be a woman until..."  
  
"That day I brought you to the infirmary," Harry finished.  
  
"Exactly," Draco spat. "I have so many things going on in my head and that is without mentioning the adjusting to this new body and the constant onslaught of feelings and heat in waves. After the change I never thought of the possibility of children until I found out that I was indeed a woman, exceptionally fertile, and this is permanent. And it seems as though some fluctuating hormone insists that I reveal my inner most secrets and fears with you, of all people, Potter. I'm tired, and yes, I'm scared. Well, go on," Draco said with a flurry of shooing gestures. "I'm sure Weasel will want to hear how Malfoy finally admitted he was scared of something. Are you satisfied Potter? Or do you enjoy watching me sink further and further? I thought it could get no worse after being sorted into Gryffindor, and low and behold it was all down hill from there. So tell me Potter, is this good enough for you? Have I fallen apart sufficiently to satisfy you?"  
  
"What are you on about?" Harry snapped.  
  
"Oh come off of that damn pedastal of yours! I was leaning on you while we were dancing and spouting a Shakespearian sonnet! You must be enjoying this humiliation on my part. Is that why you asked to escort me to this most esteemed of school events?"  
  
"You were reciting Shakespeare?" Harry asked in bewilderment and couldn't help the smile that curved his lips.  
  
"Ha, bloody ha, Potter! Just leave off and go back to the bloody dance. I'm sure there are plenty of girl's and perhaps a few boys that will dote upon you with their hero worship of your person. Now leave me alone!" With that Draco snatched back his hand from Harry's and crossed his arms over his chest, or rather allowed his arms to rest against the sizable cleavage of his breasts.  
  
"Will you stop and listen to yourself? You aren't making any sense. And maybe it isn't a bad thing that you can have children. Perhaps you might someday make a good mother." A look of horror passed over Harry's face as he realized what he just said. "Even if you are a Malfoy. Oh, Merlin, did I just say that? Look, Draco, this is complicated and I don't know anymore about what's happening to you than I know what's happening to myself. But we don't have to think about that tonight. We can just go back into that ballroom and dance and talk and make a night of it. I promise, no uninvited touching or kissing for that matter. Or we can go back to Gryffindor tower and sort through this mess, but I am not leaving you to your own devices, because you are acting completely mental and I do not trust you in this state of mind."  
  
"Stop trying to be my hero. I don't even admire you, you ruddy, arrogant prick."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "You don't have to, but if you don't make up your mind soon, I am picking you up and carrying you all the way up to Hermione's room, rumors and gossip queens be damned. And don't think I won't stun you to keep you from kicking and screaming on the way up."  
  
Draco sent an icy glare his way and Harry had to smile at the fierce and familiar light in those angry silver-gray eyes. "Very well, Harry, let's return to the ball. Just promise that you will act possessive enough so that no one gets any ideas of cutting in!"  
  
"Fair enough," Harry replied and then grinned at the idea of someone wanting to cut in and dance with the temperamental head case that was Draco Malfoy trapped in a female body, although he had to admit, she was stunning enough for many to overlook the temperament for a short time...  
  
---------  
  
Snape had noticed the interaction between Draco and Potter on the dance floor and had to admit that he was rather troubled by the sight, especially when Draco stormed off and Potter followed in a fury a few moments later. Something was undoubtably going on and it reeked with the scent of Potter.  
  
Snape discretely left the festivities and it didn't take long for him to catch up with Potter, who was sitting on the stairs leading up to Gryffindor tower, and Draco was on the step above Potter. Snape watched from the shadows and listened to what the two were saying.  
  
He noticed that Draco was saying too much, revealing too much of himself, and had he admitted to reciting Shakespeare to Potter? Was it possible that Draco Malfoy was in love with the the most esteemed Harry Potter?  
  
Snape shook himself and stepped further into the shadows when he realized the couple were going to return to the ball. Something strange indeed was afoot at Hogwarts, and it had all been instigated by a meddling old headmaster. Snape shook his head and wondered what else could possibly go wrong. His godson had become his goddaughter, and the poor boy trapped in a girl's body was suffering all of a woman's maladies, and was able to reproduce.  
  
Severus vowed then and there, that if Potter forced his intentions on Draco, there would be hell to pay, and Potter would never be able to procreate again, from that point onward.  
  
---------  
  
Many faces turned toward the double doors as Harry and 'Diana' made their reentrance. Harry took Draco's elbow and led him to the table where Hermione and Ron were sitting, every now and then Hermione sent a glare Ron's way, but Ron was completely oblivious as he stuffed his face with finger sandwiches.  
  
Hermione looked up as Harry and Draco approached and her eyebrows rose questioningly, wondering what had led to the two of them stalking off in the wake of what looked like a heated moment.  
  
"Is everything all right?" she asked.  
  
"Fine," Draco replied tersly and then took the seat next to her, because he had no desire to sit so close to Weasley. Harry obliged the seating arrangement, taking the chair between Draco and Ron.  
  
Hermione looked from Draco to Harry and shook her head. "What is it between you two? Get over it all ready. Either kill each other or go shag your brains out, but get it out of your systems!"  
  
Ron choked on his sandwiched and Harry paled while his mouth fell open at Hermione's suggestion, neither believing what their ears had picked up. Had Hermione just said something about Harry and Draco shagging?  
  
Draco just sent an icy glare in Hermione's direction.  
  
"I rather prefer being a frigid bitch than Potter's knocked-up girlfriend," Draco replied with a sneer.  
  
"Oh, honestly! There are such things as Contraceptus potions, and you are one of Snape's top ranking students. And don't give me that look!" Hermione snapped impatiently.  
  
"Will the two of you please stop discussing the future of my sex life or lack there of, at least while I'm at the bloody table?" Harry hissed.  
  
Ron looked at Harry, his countenance positively green. "I'm in complete agreement with Harry on this. Now if you'll excuse me I need to find a privy so that I can go wretch up those wonderful sandwiches, entirely defeating the purpose of eating them in the first place."  
  
With that Ron clutched his stomach and ran off in search of a bathroom.  
  
Harry noticed the raised platinum eyebrow and steeled himself for what was undoubtably to come. "Lack there of, Potter? You mean after all these years of your adoring fanfair you still remain chaste? Well, well, wonders never cease. No wonder you are so delicate in my presence. At least that would explain the nervousness."  
  
"Excuse me! But I'm not that chaste, I'll have you know," Harry snapped and then his cheeks burned with embarrassment.  
  
Draco's eyebrows rose as if to say "oh" and then the blonde spoke, "Then, please, enlighten me with your worldly experience."  
  
"That is none of your business and out of respect for her I will not tell you the details of that encounter, only that I was thoroughly educated in the subject," Harry answered a bit defensively.  
  
"I'll believe that when I see it. You positively ooze virgin hormones. You get so nervous in my prescence that it's ridiculous. Now stop bragging about wet dreams and imaginary encounters. I'd rather not know about your fantasies unless..."  
  
"Unless what?" Harry asked nervously and his hand went to his collar as he tugged on it, feeling a bit warm.  
  
"None of these little fantasies would involve me or... Certain enchantments?" Draco teased with a waggle of his eyebrows.  
  
Color again warmed Harry's cheeks and Hermione's mouth fell open as she realized what Draco was implying. She then quickly closed her mouth and covered it with her hand in shock. How had she initiated this conversation?  
  
"Bloody hell! Are you trying to chase me away?" Harry snapped impatiently and ran a shaky hand through his already messy black hair.  
  
"Potter, there is so much to sex, that I doubt you even know the half of it." Draco moved his chair closer to Harry's and then he leaned over, blew on Harry's ear and then gently nipped at the dark haired boy's ear lobe. Harry squirmed and his hands gripped the table as he felt Draco's hand trail down his chest, and took a detour to rest on his thigh. Harry's breath came in labored bursts and his heart beat quickened.  
  
"You see, sex is touch and sensation," Draco said, his words tiny whisps slipping into Harry's ear, and Harry couldn't help it as his tongue ran over his lips. Draco smiled at the reaction he was eliciting from the boy. "It is all this and nothing."  
  
And with that Draco withdrew and left Harry gasping in his chair, obviously frustrated. Hermione had watched the exchange with wide eyes, and she hadn't been the only one. Black eyes, belonging to a certain Potions Master, had been riveted by the action as well, and they wanted to know what exactly was going on between Potter and Draco...  
  
Harry took in several deep breaths and then his shaky hand reached out and grabbed Ron's glass of punch. He brought the glass to his lips and drained it in three quick gulps. He tried to slow his breathing and heart rate and once he regained his composure he felt eyes on him. He looked up and his eyes locked with that of the Potions Master, and icy fear took care of the rest of his problem. 


	9. Nine: Mr Potter Shares a Confidence wit...

Nine: Mr. Potter Shares a Confidence with Snape  
  
A week had passed since the ball, an entire week, and Harry had hardly slept or eaten anything, and he couldn't get a certain blond out of his thoughts, and when he wasn't thinking of Draco, Draco was there. There was no escape, and Harry was becoming desperate. He had to get over this new obsession or simply waste away until nothing mattered anymore.  
  
Hermione and Ron were growing increasingly worried for their friend, and Draco continued to playfully taunt Harry, although secretly he was worried for the black haired boy. Every night at dinner, Draco managed to taunt him into eating enough to survive another day.  
  
"What is wrong with you?" Ron finally snapped at his best friend. Harry looked up with a start, pausing in pushing around the food on his plate.  
  
It was in the morning and they were at breakfast, and Hermione and Draco had decided on skipping the meal for much needed sleep after what Hermione termed an 'all nighter of girl talk'. Harry looked around him and then shook his head and returned his gaze back to his plate.  
  
"Oh, hell, mate, tell me something, anything. And please eat something! You're starting to waste away. I haven't seen you like this in a long time," Ron scolded him, doing a fairly accurate impersonation of his mother.  
  
"There is nothing to tell, all right?" Harry said tiredly, pushing his plate away, then he stood up, and before walking off he added, "So leave off, Ron."  
  
Ron stood to go after him, but a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. Ron looked down started at Neville Longbottom's hand on his arm. Ron gave him a puzzled look and Neville bit his bottom lip nervously before speaking. "Let him go. He needs to sort things out on his own sometimes. He'll come around, you'll see."  
  
"Thanks," Ron said, and felt oddly relieved by Neville's words. He might have been shotty in every class except herbology, but sometimes he could be rather useful.  
  
Ron still couldn't shake the idea he had about Harry though, and it was all because of Draco Malfoy, even if the form and figure had changed, Malfoy was still Malfoy.  
  
---------  
  
Harry went back to Gryffindor tower, more specifically the seventh year boys' dorm to get his things for class. He quickly stuffed his textbooks, parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink into his school bag and then he sat down on his bed, trying to think of anything beyond platinum blonde hair and silver-gray eyes.  
  
He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples and then he felt a cool sensation against his ear. Almost as though someone were blowing on it. He opened his eyes and turned his head where he was met with silver-gray eyes, dark with want for him. Harry sucked in a deep breath of air and let it out in a rush. Soft pink lips smiled warmly at him and Harry's heart beat quickened, fire began rushing through his veins, butterfly wings fluttered in his stomach, and suddenly his trousers felt too constraining.  
  
A smirk then lit across those sinfully inviting lips and a spark ignited in those gray eyes and again the blonde leaned toward his ear and blew against it. A shiver raced up Harry's spine and a low growl resonated from his throat.  
  
"Please," Harry moaned, unsure of what he was pleading for and then he reached for the girl with the gray eyes and platinum hair flowing gracefully down her shoulders, but as soon as he reached for her she was gone. The illusion was gone.  
  
"Dammit!" Harry snarled and then brought his hand down hard on his mattress in frustration.  
  
It was becoming too real, and that scared him...  
  
Hysterical laughter bubbled up in his throat and he choked it back, shook his head, and then sighed. "Wouldn't Malfoy love to know that I'm afraid of him, of what I could do to him... I must be going mad."  
  
Realizing it was time for class, he thought of the Queen, and soon his "problem" had eased. He stood up, picked up his schoolbag, and let out a groan of displeasure as he realized his first class was double Potions. Snaped had been particularly nasty to him since the Valentine's Day ball. Harry considered cutting class, but thinking of the backlash of missing one of Snape's classes short of peril of his life, quickly remedied any thought of missing his loath teacher's class.  
  
Harry hurried out of his dorm room, rushed down the stairs, out of the common room, down several corridors and stairways until his reached the Potions classroom, albeit a bit breathless but on time. He hastily entered the classroom and took his seat by Ron and sighed in relief, but that relief was short lived as he noticed the murderous gaze he received from Snape.  
  
Showing up for class had obviously been a big mistake...  
  
---------  
  
"That was so bloody unfair! How could he do that to you! And Harry why in the bloody hell didn't you say something to him? He had no right going on about a little mistake," Ron ranted as they headed toward Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures.  
  
"He did melt a cauldron and half of the table you were working on," Draco pointed out with a chuckle. Hermione sent the blonde a pointed look that stated 'obviously you are not helping!'  
  
Hermione looked skyward and then piped up, "Harry, despite the yelling and insults, Snape had a point. Shut it, Ron!" Hermione sent a glare his way expecting a retort of some kind. "Honestly, Harry, your mind hasn't been on schoolwork, or much of anything as far as I can tell. We're here to talk. I'll even kick Draco out if you aren't comfortable discussing things in his... her... Oh bloody hell! It's been nearly two months and this is still so confusing."  
  
"I'm the one that underwent this transformation, and Potter gets all the sympathy!" Draco said with a snort. "That figures."  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ron growled, coming to Harry's defense.  
  
Harry suddenly stopped, fists balled up at his sides and body rigid. "Enough! Hermione, I know you are here to talk. Ron, stop being my bloody guard, and you," Harry took a step toward Draco and looked down into the gray depths of the blonde's eyes as he hissed, "No more games."  
  
Then Harry stalked off, not in the mood for whatever creature Hagrid would be teaching about today, and left his bewildered friends and a thoroughly miffed Draco in his wake. He needed some time to himself, and he needed it desperately.  
  
Harry found himself in the corridors of the castle wandering around aimlessly not caring much if a teacher found him... Until the event came to pass. He was in the middle of pacing one of the corridors when he ran into a barrier that gave way, a human barrier. Harry hit it with such force that he fell back. When he looked up all color drained from his face. Glaring down at him was none other than Snape.  
  
"Well, Mr. Potter, to what do I owe this displeasure? Obviously some class is not important enough for your presence at this time. At least my class garners more importance. Join me in my office," Snape said, his deep baritone voice smooth as honey laced with deadly nightshade. "And that was not a request."  
  
Harry followed as Snape led the way to his office. Once there Harry took a seat in a rigid wooden chair across from the desk as Snape locked and warded the door, and put a silencing charm around the room. Snape then sat down in the black leather chair behind the desk, steepled his hands, and looked down his nose at Harry, displeasure seeping from his every pore.  
  
Harry fought back the urge to shiver under Snape's scrutiny. He returned the Potion Master's glare with one of his own, and his effort was met with a raised black eyebrow. Animosity hung thick in the air.  
  
"Tell me, Mr. Potter, what were you thinking before you bungled your potion, destroyed school property, and endangered your fellow classmates with those noxious fumes?"  
  
"It's no concern of yours, Professor," Harry said.  
  
"Mishaps, such as yours, when they occur in my classroom are very much my concern. Furthermore, so is my goddaughter, whom you seem overly fond of, in my opinion. Or perhaps my observations are incorrect?"  
  
"Leave Draco out of this..." Harry's eyes widened when he realized his mistake.  
  
"Draco?" Snape asked and then he slapped his palms down hard on the desk and hissed. "What do you know about that, boy?"  
  
"As much as he was willing to tell, and more, but I won't betray a confidence, besides he probably wouldn't want you to know," Harry spat, and then realized he was talking to a teacher, however hated that teacher might be. "He told us the day the students returned from Christmas holiday."  
  
"Us?"  
  
"Me, Ron, and Hermione. He said something about some dreams he'd been having, and then he confessed to an unhealthy obsession with me and then told us about this pendant he wore, some sort of wishing stone," Harry answered.  
  
Snape leaned back in his chair, taking in all that Potter had just disclosed to him. So give a lonely boy suddenly transformed into a girl a couple of friends and this is what happens. He should have known leaving Draco at the mercy of Potter would be dangerous.  
  
"While we are on the subject of Draco, tell me Mr. Potter, what are your intentions toward him."  
  
"What do want from me?" Harry snapped, his anger overriding his fear. "Do you expect confessions of my undying love and faithfulness? Well, there, you have it. Stupid git had to go through all of this mess, and never realized I liked... Loved who he was before. He could be a sodding blast- ended skrewt, and I know he would make a horribly ill-tempered one of those, for all I care and I would probably still love him. I didn't recognize it for what it was until..."  
  
"Until?"  
  
Snape's question hung in the air for a few moments.  
  
Harry took a deep shuddering breath. He'd gone this far, he might as well finish it off. "The first game of the season when he fell. That night I snuck out and stayed in the hospital with him until nearly five in the morning. As far as I know Madame Pomfrey was the only one who knew about it, and the only reason she did was because she woke me up and told me to go back to my bed."  
  
Snape's eyebrow rose as he took in this information. Apparently Potter was more than smitten. He'd mentioned love... Was that possible for one so young as Potter. Snape looked at the boy, and realized the unmarked years on him. The age that came from never having a childhood. Harry Potter was no ordinary teenage boy, he'd been forced to grow up and know the harshness of reality all too soon, so it was indeed possible for him to know love, and with as much as Draco had fought with himself over the subject of Harry Potter, then it was possible that Draco returned the sentiment.  
  
Snape almost smiled,thinking that maybe Albus' meddling wasn't so bad, but caught himself in time. He suddenly sat forward in a quick movement, his black eyes locked with Potter's green ones.  
  
"Boy, I do not need to tell you that if you are lying to me, and it results in any form of injury where Draco is concerned, that you will pay a hefty price, and I will see to it personally that the Potter line ends with you. Is that understood?"  
  
"Does this mean I have your blessing?" Harry asked incredulously.  
  
Snape glared at the boy, angered by his impudence. "Call it what you will, Potter," he spat, and then after a moment's thought said, "One other thing. What are those blatant public displays between yourself and Draco all about?"  
  
"He comes on to me!" Harry replied defensively.  
  
Snape couldn't help the smirk at that. "Yes, there is no doubt about that. You do have a certain chaste, perhaps one might go as far as say virginal quality about you."  
  
Harry's mouth fell open in indignity as he stood up and pointed a finger at Snape. "Now, look here! I am not a virgin! How many times must I say this? Draco is teasing me about it and now... Oh! Sweet Merlin, did I just say that to you, of all people?"  
  
Snape again smirked at the boy. "I supposed I could let that last bit go unnoticed, although thou doth protest too much. Now on with a more serious note. I do not wish to catch you skipping classes unless you are headed toward the hospital wing or in the hospital wing. Is that clear?"  
  
"W-w-what? That's it?" Harry asked in shock his hand falling back to his side.  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Do you really wish for me to take away housepoints? Under the circumstances, I thought I could allow this one time to go unnoticed. Especially after our understanding. Ofcourse if you insist."  
  
"No, that's all right," Harry said quickly, and then looked speculatively at the older man. "You're not so bad after all. You know you could go a bit easier on Neville, he does make an effort."  
  
Snape's expression darkened. "We have an understanding Potter, not an epiphany. Talk like that will result in the deduction of house points!"  
  
Snape quickly removed the wards and said a spell that unlocked his door, then he pointed to the door and fixed his gaze on Harry. "Remember what I said if you hurt him. Now out, before I take more points from Gryffindor than even your foolish heroics could recover!"  
  
That was the first time any student had walked out of the Potion Master's office with a grin on their face, and unfortunately there was no one around to witness the event.  
  
---------  
  
Harry found himself back in his dorm, mulling over his strange conversation with Professor Snape. That man sure was protective of his charges, and that was when he realized that he had a newfound respect for the man. Calling him a greasy git would no longer hold the same amusement it had before. And what a pity that would be.  
  
Harry sighed and laid down on his four-poster, and within a few moments time he was asleep.  
  
And it wasn't long after that when he was rudely shaken awake by a very concerned redhead. Harry lashed out and his eyes snapped open, hands then instinctively reaching for his glasses. They were handed to him a few moments later, and once he had them on the concerned face of Ron Weasley came into focus.  
  
"Ron?"  
  
"Oi, what happened? Why can't you just tell me what's wrong?" the redhead asked and then a look of confusion passed over his face as he noticed the small smile creeping over his best friend's face, and the sparkle returned to the green eyes behind the glasses he wore.  
  
Suddenly Ron's repeated, "What happened?" took on new meaning.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes and smacked Ron playfully in the shoulder. "Nothing like that! Let's just say I have a few new perspectives. And I've come to terms with a few things. Now I have to find a way to make a Slytherin prat in Gryffindor clothing come to terms."  
  
"Oh, bloody hell, Harry, it doesn't have to do with shagging does it?" Ron asked, looking green.  
  
Harry looked at his friend and laughed. "Ron, sometimes I worry about you. I wouldn't call it shagging so much as making love."  
  
"Love?" Ron's eyes widened. "You're in love? I think I'm going to be sick now. Before making anymore announcements considered what I've eaten, and give it time to settle before you speak."  
  
With that Ron left the room firmly clutching his stomach.  
  
A few minutes later Harry, under the cover of his invisibility cloak, walked out of the room and headed toward Hermione and Draco's room. He smiled as he said the password and slipped into the room. His heart gave a leap when he noticed Draco sitting on his four-poster, with no sign of Hermione anywhere in the room. Harry crossed the room in silence until he stood before Draco, then he knelt down until he was eyelevel with the blonde, before he removed the hood of his cloak, he took the soft delicate feminine face in his hands and savaged those pale pink lips with his firm mouth and a tongue that demanded admittance.  
  
Draco shoved him back and stood up immediately, eyes wide as he stared down at Harry's head seemingly floating in midair and his hands pressed back on the floor supporting the rest of Harry's body, no doubt hidden by an invisibility cloak.  
  
Harry's hands relaxed and then he removed the cloak as he stood up. He had a smile on his face, regardless of not having fully succeeded with his spur of the moment plan to shock Draco into giving into him.  
  
Draco's eyes narrowed in anger as he spat, "What did you think you were doing, Potter?"  
  
"This," Harry growled, and then snatched the feminine body into a desperate embrace, his mouth once again firmly pressed against Draco's. Draco found that Harry was surprisingly stronger than him now, and the blonde cursed his feminine body for its weak defenses against the oposite sex. And as Harry's tongue traced his bottom lip, Draco's resolve gave way. The blonde opened his mouth to Harry and a soft moan escaped his lips as both fought for dominance, Harry and Draco's tongues twisting and battling for upper ground, tasting and exploring seemingly new and yet oddly familiar territory.  
  
Eventually the need for air drew the two apart and that was when they heard the gasp. The two sprung apart and looked toward the door of the room where a stunned Hermione stood.  
  
"Oh, sweet Circe. I'm sorry, please continue. I'll just be going now," she said awkwardly and then quickly ducked out of the room.  
  
Draco smirked at Harry and then chuckled. "You have a great deal of potention, Potter. You seem to enjoy touch and sensation."  
  
"It won't be all of that and nothing. I won't have that from you. I want you, all of you. I don't want sex. I want to make love to you. I..."  
  
"You, what...Harry?" Draco asked softly as he looked at the boy in a new light.  
  
"I love you. I loved you as you were, and I love you now, as you are."  
  
Draco looked down at the floor, unsure of how to respond, and when he looked back up he noticed the spark in those green eyes that sent a shiver down his spine.  
  
A small smile curved Harry's lips as he took a step toward Draco and tentatively wrapped his arms around the blonde, leaving enough room for escape if that is what Draco wanted. Instead Draco surprised him and leaned into him, resting his head against Harry's chest and curling his delicate arms around Harry's waist.  
  
Harry sighed and dropped a kiss atop the platinum blonde hair. "You don't have to say it now. I already know..."  
  
Draco slowly pulled back from the embrace, his silvery gray eyes swimming with conflicting emotions and then he sighed, took a deep breath, and said, "I think it's time I show you something, to assure you that I have been honest..."  
  
Harry looked at the girl in his arms in confusion. "Show me what?"  
  
"Let me go, and you'll find out," Draco challenged playfully.  
  
And Harry adhered to the request.  
  
Draco sauntered over to his trunk, murmured a few unlocking charms and a password and then he was pulling out all of the clothing and putting it on the bed. Harry noticed all of the things being pulled out of the trunk and figured there had to be some sort of storage charm on the thing. When it was finally empty he noticed Draco's delicate fingers touching a dark spot in the silken inlay, and then the bottom of the trunk popped up. Harry raised an eyebrow, the trunk had a false bottom.  
  
Harry looked in and noticed as Draco pulled out a large leather bound book that was tied secure with a leather cord. Draco lifted it out and then said a charm that put the false bottom back in place and with a swish and flick all of his clothes were back in the trunk. Draco then muttered several locking spells over his trunk and finally when the trunk was closed and secure he sat down on his bed and patted a spot beside him for Harry to sit.  
  
With an odd and awkward slowness of a timid lover Draco untied the leather cord and slowly opened the large book, which turned out to be a sketchbook. Harry's eyes widened at the first thing he saw, a very detailed portrait of himself, it was simply drawn, not enchanted, and the work was amazing. Slowly he traced his finger along the scar so carefully drawn on the forehead, and then felt delicate fingers, Draco's fingers, trace the scar that was on his forehead.  
  
Harry continued to look through the sketches, and there were dozens, mostly of him, but there were a few of Ron and Hermione, and even one of Snape. Then he came across a portrait of Draco, as he had been before.  
  
He looked up and held the drawing out to Draco, "When did you draw this?"  
  
"Before all of this happened. It was a self portrait. As conceited as it may sound I sketched it while staring at my lovely former male visage in the mirror, and that was the result."  
  
"These are really good. I mean, I'm no authority or anything, but they are so life like... And this one," Harry said and held up another drawing of rough hands gently touching a scarred back in an intimate gesture. "Whose hands are these, and whose back?"  
  
At that question a faint flush appeared on Draco's cheeks and he reached for Harry's work roughened hands and traced his own fingers over the roughened pads of Harry's palms and fingertips. Rough, yet promising gentle tenderness. Draco smiled at the thought.  
  
"From the first moment I saw your hands I knew I had to draw them," Draco admitted breathlessly, and then he looked up. "That is my back. I thought I told you I had scars of my own. Of course this body remedied that ugliness. This body is unmarred, only the soul that resides within is scarred."  
  
"Those scars make you who you are. I'm sorry that so much happened to you, but without those scars would you be who you are, or would you have become your father?"  
  
"I don't know." Draco turned away. "But it still hurts."  
  
Harry set the book aside and scooted closer to the sad girl. He put his arms around Draco, and Draco relaxed, finally feeling at peace with himself, for the first time, and he chuckled. Harry froze for a moment, and then Draco spoke. "I never wanted a hero, Potter, only a lover. How is it that you ended up rescuing me?"  
  
"I don't know," said Harry as he pulled Draco closer against him, "And it doesn't matter. Just know that I am here..." With that Harry paused as something occurred to him.  
  
Draco looked up, eyebrow raised in curiousity, a gesture oddly similar to Snape. "What is it?"  
  
Harry shook himself and then sighed in frustration. "Even your bloody godfather thought I 'possessd a certain virginal quality.' You know I'm not a saint. Why do you just assume..."  
  
Draco cut him off, "You talked to Severus? So he knows that you know? Bloody hell!"  
  
Harry blushed. "I'm sorry, but I was angry and frustrated, and you were ignoring me I didn't know how to tell Ron or Hermione, and I sort of ran into him in the hallway and he gave me that anatomy in a specimen jar lecture, threatened to remove house points, and then sent me on my way."  
  
Hysterical laughter bubbled up from Draco's throat and filled the room. Harry gave him an odd look and soon he too joined in the laughter, neither really knowing what they were laughing at, perhaps fate or maybe not, but whatever it was, it was damn funny. 


	10. Ten: The Questionable Background of Dia...

Ten: The Questionable Background of Diana Marlowe  
  
"Severus!"  
  
Snape jolted and sat upright, scowling at the intrusion made in part by the deputy headmistress. He looked up at the woman in red robes, her hair pulled back in a severe bun, and her face set in determination. A black eyebrow rose in curiosity as he gestured at a chair. She looked at the wooden chair and then transifigued it into a plush red office chair. Snape rolled his eyes as she took the chair.  
  
"Yes, Minerva? What, may I ask, is the occasion for this little visit?" His words were venomous honey.  
  
"Don't you start with me today!" she snapped and then narrowed her eyes at him. "I know there is something afoot here, and it has to do with that girl, Diana Marlowe, and the death of Draco Malfoy. And I am not leaving this room until I have answers!"  
  
"Have you considered going to Albus?" Snape sounded uninterested and his expression was bored, but his eyes sparked with curiosity.  
  
"I thought I might find out a few things before seeing the headmaster, and seeing as to how Miss Marlowe is your goddaughter, I thought you might be the one to inform me," she said, her eyes sparking and then she let out a snort. "Obviously the girl has problems, and she is in my house, although I think that may be some mistake. She broke Dean Thomas' nose and I heard that Mr. Weasley has suffered a black eye with regards from her. Now, Potter is smitten with her and I want to know who she is, because up until December there are no records of her, anywhere."  
  
Severus leaned forward in his chair and regarded the woman with carefully neutral black eyes. He knew he could trust the woman, but how would she react to what he had to tell her? Curiosity over won common sense, and he'd always wondered if there was a way to give the poor woman an apoplexy.  
  
"All right, Minerva, you're suspicions are well founded. So..." Severus paused dragging out the moment for a dramatic effect. "What is it that you wish to know?"  
  
"Who is she? Where does she come from?"  
  
Severus smiled, stood up, and then offered the woman some firewhisky, which she declined, before pouring a glass for himself. This promised to be a long conversation indeed.  
  
---------  
  
Blaise Zabini had been sulky ever since he'd heard about Draco's disappearance. He'd been practically intolerable since the news of Draco's death. According to the papers there had been a girl involved, a girl whose discription matched that of the newest Gryffindor, the one who was getting close to Potter.  
  
Blaise rolled over in his four poster, green velvet bed curtains drawn for privacy, as he mulled over the girl. She looked amazingly like him, they could almost pass for twins, perhaps even... He shook his head at the thought. The girl couldn't be Draco... Could she? Maybe he was going mad, it was possible. People sometimes went mad when they lost the object of their unrequited love... Still who was this strange new girl? Where did she come from? Why did she seem so familiar? And why was she so much like him?  
  
---------  
  
"Do you expect me to believe that your goddaughter is in fact Draco Malfoy?" Minerva said and almost laughed in disbelief, but the look in Severus Snape's eyes stopped her, and the color drained from her face. "Oh dear... But how?"  
  
"That you will have to take up with the headmaster. I assumed you would eventually be told of the situation. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure it out," Severus replied.  
  
"And she... Malfoy is getting involved with Potter. The poor boy, if he were to ever find out..."  
  
"He knows," he said from the top of his tumbler of firewhiskey.  
  
He couldn't help the smug expression on his face at the look of shock on Minerva McGonagall's face. Very few people could catch her off guard, and Severus Snape was one of the privileged few. He took great satisfaction in knowing that he could unnerve the deputy headmistress so thoroughly.  
  
"Are you saying that Harry knows about Miss Marlowe being Draco Malfoy?"  
  
"As do Mr. Weasley and the inestimable Ms. Granger. Now shall we continue this conversation with Albus?"  
  
Minerva nodded and the two teachers got up, and headed toward the headmaster's office.  
  
---------  
  
Dean Thomas had been unusually quiet since the incident when Diana Marlowe had broken his nose. His friends Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom were beginning to worry about him. The incident had been weeks ago, and still Dean was acting funny about it. He kept stealing funny glances at Diana and watching her closely. And he'd come to two conclusions, Diana without a doubt liked Harry Potter, and Harry Potter returned the sentiment.  
  
Still there were strange things about Diana. For one thing she wasn't the average girl, because she could obviously hit like any seasoned beater, and although she appeared delicate she had a right temperament, that many of the Gryffindors had witnessed. And strangely enough the girl could get away with murder during Snape's classes, and Snape never made allowances for Gryffindors. She also ate with a healthy appetite that rivaled Ron Weasley's, swore like any good seasoned sailor, and she prefered trousers to skirts. And if her behavior and preferences in clothing weren't odd enough, she bore an uncanny resemblance to the deceased Draco Malfoy. Not only that, but she vehemently defended his honor if anyone so much as breathed a word against him.  
  
Dean's brows knitted together as he mulled over the possibilities. Who was Diana Marlowe? She suddenly shows up at Hogwarts and Draco Malfoy disappeared. Lucius Malfoy had mentioned a girl being in his son's bed on the day of his son's disappearance, the girl's description matching Diana Marlowe. What did it all mean? Did the death of Draco Malfoy make way for an heir that had been hidden away?  
  
Dean's head jerked up as Seamus gave his shoulder a good shaking to get his attention. "What was all that thinking about? You've been acting funny ever since that chit that's got Potter's knickers in a twist decked you. Come one, out with it."  
  
"Naw, mate, you'd think I was daft," Dean said with a shake of his head.  
  
"We wouldn't," Neville piped up.  
  
Dean let out a deep breath. "All right. That girl, Diana Marlowe. She's a funny sort. I mean, don't you think it odd that she shows up as an exchange student and Draco Malfoy suddenly disappears? And look at her! She looks just like him. If I didn't know better I'd think they were twins. And no one seems to know anything about her. Maybe she's not Diana Marlowe, but Diana Malfoy, and maybe that is why Draco Malfoy is dead."  
  
"What?" Neville let out in a rush of air.  
  
Seamus looked at his friend, taking in the speculations. "You know, his da did mention a girl what matched her description, but he never mentioned it being his daughter."  
  
"Maybe because no one was supposed to know about her. I mean think on it. What if she killed Draco so that she could be the Malfoy heir?"  
  
Neville's eyes widened as he gulped. "And what if she's trying to get Harry, you know for You-Know-Who?"  
  
"And what if she is Draco Malfoy," Seamus said with a laugh.  
  
"Ah, Seamus! I'm being serious!" Dean sighed.  
  
"Sure you are," Seamus said with a roll of his eyes. "Look you're still sore about her breaking your nose. Just leave off. Besides Harry is the one we should worry about being daft, he's actually going after her. She's a fine filly no doubt, but there'll be no breaking that temper she's got."  
  
"I'm telling you, there's something off with her!" Dean snapped.  
  
"Maybe," Neville said, "But what can we do about it? Harry's the one that seems to know her best, him, Ron, and Hermione."  
  
"Ron!" Dean shouted with a snap of his fingers. "He's been sort of funny toward her, all nervous and twitchy."  
  
"Well have you seen the girl? I'm surprised Harry is able to speak around her! And that voice. Every time she opens her mouth I could fall in love," Seamus' voice had a whimsical air to it.  
  
"You're right! Who has a voice like that?" Dean pointed out.  
  
"But why would she defend Malfoy if she killed him?" Neville asked.  
  
"How should I know? To throw us off? Or maybe they were close when they were younger and driven apart when he got sent to Hogwarts," Dean suggested.  
  
"But where has she been these past seven years? It's obvious she's not a squib. I mean she's as powerful as Malfoy was, and she's good in potions. Look at how Snape is always complimenting her work," Neville, ever the voice of reason, offered.  
  
Seamus just looked at his friends and shook his head. Diana Marlowe was just a pretty exchange student with a bad temper and a crush on Harry Potter, and that was all. He'd had enough of Dean's conspiracy theory, and walked off to leave Dean and Neville to continue mulling over what was none of their business.  
  
---------  
  
Blaise sat up in bed and realized what he had to do. He had to question Diana Marlowe about her involvement, if any, with Draco. It was the only way to ease the guilt... And the regret.  
  
Blaise got out of bed. Slipped on his boots and ran an experienced immaculate and cultured hand down his sweater smoothing non-existant wrinkles. He checked his appearance in a mirror, noting that every strand of his dark hair was in place and his eyes were sharp.  
  
He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, remembering how when they were alone Draco used to come up behind him whenever he stood before the mirror and smoothed the wrinkles from his shirt or robes, and when he tilted his head to the side Draco would kiss the smooth skin of the neck that he offered. A shiver ran up Blaise's spine. The funeral had been hard to get through. It was closed casket, and seemed almost surreal. Draco was too full of life and ambition for it all to be gone so quickly, for it all to be over for good.  
  
When Blaise opened his eyes a few tears escaped and ran down his cheeks. He quickly and roughly brushed them away, and suddenly felt choked as he recalled the memory of how he'd ruined things. If only he'd been more rational. He never should have gone to Lucius with their relationship. He should have known that Draco had a reason for wanting to keep things between them a secret.  
  
He brought his fist down on the dresser. "Damn it all. I never thought I was betraying us. I'll never be able to say I'm sorry, and I'll never be able to tell you how much I loved you. You arrogant sodding prick! Why couldn't you leave things as they were meant to be? Why did you have to go and get killed! Damn you Draco Malfoy! Damn you!"  
  
"Blaise?"  
  
He turned at the sound of his name coming from the lips of Pansy Parkinson. She was a voluptious girl, not beautiful by any means, but pretty with honey colored hair and a presence that screamed to be known.  
  
"What do you want Parkinson?" he managed to say.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him and a small smile tugged at her full red painted lips. "I couldn't help but overhear your little outburst. I never would have thought that you and Draco were lovers. Perhaps that is why he refused our betrothal on the day he disappeared. So you were his little secret for all of these years? The reason why he pushed me away? Well, now I know why I wasn't his type."  
  
Blaise looked at her for a moment. "What? Draco and I... We were over almost a year ago."  
  
"Don't lie to me, Zabini. His father sent word to my parents about Draco refusing our marriage arrangement, because he was pining over a lover," she spat.  
  
"Why would I lie about my relationship with a..." Blaise had started out with a good tempo but he couldn't bring himself to refer to Draco as a dead man.  
  
"Dead man?" Pansy said with a smirk. "I don't know. Perhaps to protect yourself?"  
  
"I don't have to tell you anything."  
  
"You don't have to. I already know that you were in love with him. Did he love you?" Pansy asked with a snort of contempt.  
  
Blaise looked down at the floor and then looked up, meeting Pansy's blue eyes with the darkest gaze Pansy had ever seen. Ice ran through Pansy's blood as his words rang in the air.  
  
"Draco couldn't love me. I don't know who his heart belonged to, but I have an idea as to whom it might have been."  
  
Pansy turned away from that gaze, some of her bravery returning to her. "Oh, and who would this mysterious love of his life be?"  
  
"I would never tell you," he growled and then pushed her out of his way as he left the room, the Slytherin common room, and the dungeons, and he didn't stop until he reached the portrait of the fat lady who guarded the entrance of Gryffindor tower. He'd managed to follow some first years once and learned where it was located.  
  
He was desperate, desperate to see Diana Marlowe and find his peace with Draco Malfoy once and for all.  
  
---------  
  
"Albus!" Minerva McGonagall's voice rang through the air. "How could you?! Interfering with the life of that poor boy and... Well! Look at the mess you've made! And about the effect this has on Malfoy or even Potter for that matter!"  
  
"It's always the precious Potter with you," Snape interjected.  
  
"Oh stuff yourself you snarky curmudgeon!" Minerva snapped, and Snape was so caught off guard that he managed to looked offended.  
  
"Minerva, what's done is done, and may never be undone. Draco Malfoy is, and shall remain, a woman for the rest of his days," Albus said and then held up his hand when he noticed the deputy headmistress preparing to speak again. "And I have noticed his interest in our young Mr. Potter."  
  
"As you have put it, Draco is now a girl, why refer to her as him?" Minerva said.  
  
"Because before this incident he spent eighteen years as a boy and young man. The new body does not change who he is inside and inside he still thinks and obviously reacts like a young man. You notice he favors trousers and boots to skirts and high heels? And I'm sure that his reaction to Mr. Thomas some weeks ago shows that he is still driven to act predominantly male when prevoked."  
  
"If he is so predominantly male as you claim, then why is he so interested in Potter?" Minerva shot back.  
  
Snape fidgeted and both the deputity headmistress and the headmaster turned to the esteemed and snarky Potions Master, a twinkle burning fierce in Dumbledore's eyes. Snape gave his collar a pull under the glare from McGonagall and accepted the glass of water offered to him by the headmaster.  
  
"Well, Severus, what do you know?" McGonagall's words were sharp.  
  
"As you are aware, I am the boy's, Draco's godfather, and he has shared many confidences with me over the years. I doubt if you are aware that he was in a relationship with Blaise Zabini up until a year ago. When his father found out about it both Draco and Zabini were punished severely because of it. So it is not entirely impossible to believe that Draco's interest in Potter is geniune if not tasteless and illfounded," Severus concluded with a look of disgust.  
  
"Well, what can we do about this?" Minerva said and gave Albus a sharp look. "Can the stone be destroyed?"  
  
"Minerva, my dear, all we can do is allow things to run their course. The stone may be destroyed, but its will has already been done. There is no undoing this. And for once I regret having meddled, but I must say that it has had some unexpected, if not pleasant, results," the headmaster spoke and again his eyes twinkled.  
  
---------  
  
Blaise was lurking near the portrait when he noticed it fly open and an angry seventh year Gryffindor stormed out, headed in the direction of the library. It appeared to be Finnigan. Blaise quickly darted out and entered the Gryffindor common room before reason returned or the portrait closed. Once inside all eyes turned to him. There was a sharp intake of breath and then someone, obviously a Weasley with his bright red hair, came up to him, poking him in the chest and demanding to know why he was there.  
  
Blaise gave him a sharp look. "It is not your concern Weasley. I just need to see Diana Marlowe. I have a matter I wish to discuss with her and it is of great import."  
  
"And what would a Slytherin like you want with her? And how did you get in here?" Weasley continued.  
  
"If you must know, I want to know her connection to Draco Malfoy's death. She had to be the one there that day. Now if you don't tell me where I can find her I will hex you and everyone in my way!" Blaise snapped.  
  
As the tensions mounted higher a shouting and shoving match between the Slytherin and the Weasley broke out. Insults and fists were thrown, and the noise reached the seventh year prefect's room, where Draco was sketching Harry as he lay on the bed posing for the blond.  
  
They suddenly heard the commotion as Hermione rushed into the room and said a Slytherin was in the common room and Ron was fighting with him. Harry jumped off of the bed and the graphite pencil in Draco's hand slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor. He put down the sketchpad and soon Harry and Draco were in the common room. Draco's eyes widened as he recognized the Slytherin and shouted, "Blaise?!"  
  
The dark haired boy stopped in the middle of punching Ron in the stomach and looked up. The redhead however did not stop until his fist came into contact with his foe's nose, from which blood gushed after the sickening sound of a snap. Draco ran to where Blaise fell and quickly assessed the boy's injuries before sending a glare in Ron's direction. Harry simply watched with the rest of the stunned Gryffindor's as 'Diana' pushed strands of dark hair out of the Slytherin's face and then smoothed the wrinkles in his sweater.  
  
The Slytherin looked up at the girl in shock as he realized that Draco wasn't dead, this beautiful girl was his Draco. He let out a hitched breath, sat up and threw his arms around the girl. He didn't care about the tears coursing from his eyes or the blood gushing from his nose as he showered the girl's fair face in messy kisses. The room was now silent as everyone watched and then the Slytherin spoke.  
  
"Oh, Gods, Draco, you're alive! I never thought I would have the chance to say all the things I should have. I am so sorry. For everything. I never should have gone to your father. If I had known," Blaise said and then his voice cracked.  
  
What shocked the Gryffindors even more was when 'Diana' returned the embrace and rubbed the boy's back in comfort. "Blaise that was a year ago. It's over. It's been over for a year."  
  
The boy drew back from the girl's arms and looked up into her silvery gray eyes. "I know, but I had to tell you that I love you. I knew we were over the moment I saw your sketchbook. You left it out one night, and I saw everything. That is why I told your father. I never thought he would..." The boy leaned forward and brushed his hand along Draco's back. He should have been able to feel the raised scar tissue, but it wasn't there. "Where are they?"  
  
"A second chance gave me a fresh start. The scars are still with me, just no longer in my flesh," she whispered.  
  
Blaise finally looked the girl over from head to toe as if taking her in for the first time. "What happened to you?"  
  
The girl shrugged. "I am not entirely sure, but it cannot be undone, and truth be told I wouldn't undo, not after all I've gained from it," she said with a sigh and then turned to look up at Harry Potter.  
  
The Slytherin followed her gaze and closed his eyes against the pain. "That's what I thought Draco. I just hope this makes you happy."  
  
The blonde nodded and then gray eyes widened. "Blaise, I should have let Weasley beat you to death! You bastard! How in the hell did you know it was me!"  
  
Draco then socked him in the shoulder and Blaise fell back with the force of the blow. Blaise smirked as he rubbed his aching shoulder. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, I would have recognized you, even if you'd been trapped in Weasley's body. We were too close, and I cared too much to not recognize you."  
  
Draco stood up and offered a hand to the Slytherin. Blaise took the hand and allowed Draco to pull him up. Finally the two looked around. Hermione was giving them a worried look, Ron was looking angry and curious, and Harry simply watched the interaction between the two. It was obvious that they were former lovers. The rest of the Gryffindors simply stared in openmouthed shock until Dean Thomas pushed through the throng and stood directly before Draco.  
  
"Malfoy? But how? You can't be Malfoy, he's dead. You might be some long lost heir, but you can't be Draco Malfoy," he said.  
  
Draco kneed the boy in the groin and smirked as the boy slid to the floor. "I think I just gave you all the proof you needed." Draco put an arm around Blaise's shoulder intent on escorting him to the hospital wing, considering that the Slytherin had a limp. What in the hell had Weasley done to him? Draco turned to Harry and asked, "Care to help me get him to the hospital wing?"  
  
Harry nodded and flanked Blaise on his left and wrapped an arm about the boy's shoulders like Draco had done, and between the two of them they helped Blaise to the hospital wing.  
  
Once they took care of Blaise they walked back to Gryffindor tower, neither of them speaking. It was obvious that the secret was now out. Everyone would soon know that Diana Marlowe was in fact Draco Malfoy. They walked into Gryffindor tower together, Harry's hands firm on Draco's shoulder, the two walking into the tower with their heads held high. Silence hung thick in the air. Harry noticed Hermione with her hand on Ron's chest to keep him seated in one the of the red chairs by the fire. Harry nodded toward her and then he followed Draco upstairs and to the seventh year girl's prefect room.  
  
Draco muttered the password and once they were inside he went over to his four-poster, sat down with a heavy sigh, and let his head fall forward into his hands. After taking a deep breath he looked back up and noticed Harry standing before him.  
  
"Care to talk about it?" Harry asked as he knelt to be eye level with the blonde.  
  
"It's all over. I am going to be the laughing stock of the entire school. Shamed beyond all repair and this will ruin you. How can you even stand to be around me now? What are they going to say, and dear gods, I don't even want to think about how the other Slytherins will react. I can imagine the mockfest that Pansy would organize, especially after I snubbed our marriage arrangement. Tomorrow I will face utter humiliation," Draco said and then looked up at Harry, gray eyes locking with green, as his delicate fingers pushed a strand of that unruly black hair out of the ruggedly handsome face of the boy kneeling before him. "But you don't have to. I'll understand. Just break it off with me now. Start yelling, throw open the door, storm out, and slam it. That's all you have to do, and you'll be free."  
  
Harry looked at him incredulously. "How can you say that? Damn you! One little obstacle and you are willing to throw me, us, away?"  
  
"Potter I would destroy you! Can't you see it's better this way?" Draco snapped.  
  
"And can't you see that I don't care about what they think! It won't be better! It will rip us both apart. I am not whole without you!" And with that Potter gently captured the delicate face in his work roughened hands, and pressed his lips firmly against Draco's.  
  
Slowly he got up off of his knees, not daring to break the kiss, and moved forward, pressing Draco's back into the mattress as he hung over the boy trapped in a girl's body. He finally relented and drew back once he had Draco straddled on the bed beneath him. Draco looked up at the dark haired boy, anger and fear battling in his gray eyes.  
  
"What do you think you are doing?" he asked waspishly.  
  
Harry leaned down again, gently nipped at the soft lobe of Draco's ear, eliciting a moan from the blond, and then he began to trail kisses down the blond's throat, pausing over the pulse, and flicking out his tongue to taste the fair skin of the blonde. His hands had moved to either side of Draco's head, pressing down heavily on the mattress, bearing the majority of his weight.  
  
Hunger was in those green eyes and Draco swallowed thickly as he felt Harry's growing arousal pressing into his feminine thighs. Something in his throat and chest tightened and warmth began to pool in his stomach, a strange glowing warmth that demanded satisfaction.  
  
The hunger in those green eyes broke Draco's resolve. He ran his hands in Harry's dark hair and dragged Harry's head back up and into a kiss of hunger, desperation, want. And as the kiss grew more heated Draco's hand drifted down to the hem of Harry's sweater, and then slid under the sweater until he felt the heat of Harry's taunt stomach and hard chest beneath his fingertips, and felt the reverbaration of Harry's response emitting low from the dark boy's throat.  
  
Harry broke away from the kiss and quickly pulled off his sweater, much to the appreciation of Draco, and tossed it haphazardly, not giving a damn where it landed. His hands, equally curious, ran lightly over the silky material of the button up shirt Draco wore. His fingers awkwardly fumbled with the buttons. Draco grabbed Harry's shaky hands and then began to unbutton the shirt himself. Harry leaned back a bit as Draco sat up beneath him and took off the shirt. Then Harry reached behind the blonde and fumbled with the clasps of the bra until he had removed it.  
  
Harry's throat tightened at the sight of Draco's body, the luscious curves and crevices that demanded exploration, and Harry was happy to oblige. He took those milky breasts into his hands, gently kneading them, and then feeling more bold, he leaned down taking the peak of one into his mouth and suckling it. Draco arched his back and a gasp followed by a low moan escaped his lips, his hands fluttered wildly to Harry's trousers, as he unbuttoned them and partook in the longest unzipping of his life. Harry suddenly paused in his administrations when Draco's hand slipped into his pants and he let out a moan as those delicate fingers curled around him.  
  
He looked at the blonde, surprise in his green eyes, and he noticed the amusement and challenge in the gray eyes of his new lover. He got up, but before Draco could protest he realized that Harry was removing his trousers. Draco then unbuttoned and unzipped his own trousers, but stopped when Harry put a hand over his.  
  
"Let me," Harry whispered huskily and finished unzipping Draco's black trousers and began to pull them slowly off of the blonde, his fingers skimming down the blonde's legs, until he finally pulled off the trousers. Harry noticed the black lace panties with a raised eyebrow, to which Draco smirked. Harry then moved with the grace of a cat back up the length of Draco's body, which surprised Draco as he never thought Harry could possess such grace.  
  
"Wonder's never cease with you, Potter," Draco moaned as he ran a hand through the dark unruly hair and brought Harry down for another kiss, and then took the dark haired boy by surprise as he rolled them over so Harry was pinned beneath him. Harry looked up at the blond questioningly. Draco leaned down and captured his lips into a kiss and then pulled back, gently tugging on Harry's bottom lip until finally releasing it.  
  
"Sometimes I like it better when you are beneath me," Draco breathed against Harry's ear, and then nipped it. "Why, do you have a problem with it?"  
  
Harry twisted his leg around Draco's managing to over power the blonde, and rolled them over again so that he was on top. Draco tried to protest, but Harry smiled down at him. "This is your first time, please let me have control this one time."  
  
"My first time!" Draco snorted.  
  
"Yes, your first time making love," Harry said and then pressed his lips against Draco's and pulled back a moment later, leaving the blonde frustrated. "This may hurt a bit, getting past your barriers, but I promise to be gentle and patient. Oh, and this is your first time in this body. I don't want to hurt you."  
  
Draco leaned up, one of his hands reaching around the back of Harry's neck, fingers splaying into the dark hair at the boy's nape. Delicately massaging the scalp there, as his other hand trailed down Harry's chest and stopped, fingers curling around the waist band of Harry's white and red striped cotton boxers. Harry looked down into the silvery gray eyes, and licked his lips, biting back the moan building at the back of his throat. He closed his eyes for the briefest moment and felt Draco's hand slip beneath his boxers once again, but he took the delicate wrist in his hand before the blonde could go any further and his green eyes snapped opened.  
  
"Are you sure you want this?" he asked.  
  
He saw Draco smile and then reach up and take away his glasses, to set them down on the nightstand, and then that soft melodic voice, that had become Draco's voice, whispered the one word that broke Harry's shaky resolve.  
  
"Yes." 


	11. Eleven: Weasley’s Heartbreak

Eleven: Weasley's Heartbreak  
  
Gray eyes slowly fluttered open, and a tired sated groan hummed musically from Draco's throat. He felt a bit sore, but oddly at peace, and then as the cloud of unconsciousness slowly drifted away he felt a pair of strong arms around him, pulling him tighter against a hard smooth chest, and his legs were tangled with another's. Draco's breath caught, as the night came back to him. He turned his head slowly and realized that Harry's bare chest was serving as his pillow. He then looked down and noticed that at least the sheets and blankets were pulled up around them to cover them.  
  
Panic shot through Draco like icewater in his veins. What had he done and with Harry? Oh gods, and had Blaise really shown up in Gryffindor tower? Had last night been real? It had all seemed a dream, but Harry was real and Harry was in his bed. Draco was lost in his own thoughts and didn't noticed Harry was awake until the dark haired boy gave a yawn, and his arms left Draco's body as he stretched.  
  
He looked up at Harry as he noticed the boy's body shudder with another long stretch. Then Harry's arms were around him again, and the panic and fear ebbed away, and Harry's soft lips pressed briefly against his forehead.  
  
"Good morning," the dark haired boy said, and then his eyes widened, as he seemed to remember that Draco had a roommate, and that roommate was his best friend. "You don't think..."  
  
Draco smirked, catching the meaning of what Harry was saying as the dark haired boy glanced toward the other four-poster. Draco followed his gaze and noticed that the bed didn't look like it had been slept in.  
  
"Oh, but I do," Draco said, and then chuckled. "And it looks as though she found somewhere else to spend the night. So what do you say to a shower before we face it all?"  
  
Harry leaned down and captured Draco's lips in a kiss. Draco drew back and made a face. "Ugh, Potter, as desirable as you are, your morning breath is horrendous."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, and then said, "A shower sounds good, but what are we going to do about my clothes? I'll need some fresh things."  
  
"Shower first, thinking later. Besides I can always sneak over to your dorm, after showering, to get you some fresh clothes while you stay in the bathroom with a towel about your waist looking rather delectable while patiently awaiting my return in hopes of ravishing me yet again," Draco suggested.  
  
"Arrogant aren't we?"  
  
"I have a right to be though, don't I? I have the love of the Boy-Who- Lived. I'm sure there will be a line of enraged females ready to tear my eyes out for accomplishing so much," Draco said in a teasing matter of fact tone.  
  
Harry shook his head, got out of the bed, gathered Draco, sheet and all into his arms and made a mad dash to the bathroom, before setting Draco back down on his feet. Draco looked up at him curiously.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, running a hand through his hair. "Hermione might need something and it would be awkward if she saw us in bed together."  
  
Draco snorted. "Considering how she didn't sleep in her bed last night I would assume that she has already stumbled across us in bed together..." Draco trailed as his eyes lowered and gave Harry a full glance over, before he continued. "Harry, have you ever considered posing...nude?"  
  
Harry's face burned scarlet.  
  
---------  
  
Hermione groaned and turned fitfully only to land in a heap of blankets on the floor of the Gryffindor common room. She concluded that not only was the sofa an uncomfortable place to sleep, it was also hazardous in the event that the occupant rolled over and off of it. Hermione sat up and rubbed her temples with her hand. She let out a sigh, glad that the day was a Saturday. A day free from classes, and then she thought back to the night before. Blaise Zabini entering Gryffindor tower to confront 'Diana' and ultimately ending up revealing Draco Malfoy, and then later how she'd gone to her room expecting to go to sleep only to find Harry and Draco in the middle of what could prove to be an awkward conversation in the making.  
  
Hermione blushed and then shook her head to clear it. When had everything become such a mess?  
  
She was massaging her temples and mulling over the situation when she heard a familiar yawn and then her name. "Hermione?"  
  
She looked up to see the rumpled appearance of Ron Weasley. He scratched the back of his head and looked down at her curiously. "Say what are you doing down here, and have you seen Harry? He never came to bed last night."  
  
Hermione blushed faintly and tried to say something, but her mouth opened with no sounds to accompany. Ron's eyes widened in realization. He fell back on the sofa, his head in hands and groaned. "You slept down here didn't you?"  
  
"Yes," Hermione finally managed. "I thought it would be rather awkward to interrupt, and to be honest I doubt if I could have slept with all the noise. I'm glad I put a silencing charm on that room."  
  
Ron made a pained face. "Oh, bloody hell! I did not need to hear that..." Ron paused and then his head shot up as last night came back in full stride. "Dammit! What is Harry thinking? Everyone is going to be talking about what happened last night, so soon the whole school is going to know that 'Diana Marlowe' is Draco Malfoy, and oh gods! Harry didn't, did he?"  
  
He was looking at Hermione for reassurance, but for once she couldn't give him that, so instead she moved up to the couch to sit beside her friend and then she wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"Ron, we both knew this was coming. There is too much between those two, too many things left unsaid and unformed, for it not to have come to this. Malfoy loves him, whether that git will admit it or not, and it's obvious how Harry feels..." Hermione trailed. "Oh, no!" Her hand flew up to her mouth and her eyes widened in horror.  
  
Ron caught her look. "Harry's not that thick! And it's Malfoy!"  
  
"And Malfoy is very fertile you twat! It's possible, and by what I saw last night they had thrown caution to the wind!"  
  
Ron shook his head and let it fall back into his hands. Not only was he worried about his younger sister becoming a mummy, now he had to worry about his best friend and their former arch pain in the arse nemesis becoming parents. Things were beginning to become too much.  
  
---------  
  
Draco dropped the sheet as Harry got the shower going. Harry was about to step into the shower when he noticed the stains on the sheet, particularly the red one. Draco noticed the direction of the boy's focus and flushed faintly. Harry took the delicate hand in his and pulled Draco into the shower with him. Draco moaned as the warm water hit his body, and then he felt Harry's hands moving up and down his back, slick with water and soap.  
  
The blonde moaned again and then turned around to face Harry. "You are a bad influence, do you know that?"  
  
Harry looked down at the feminine form of his lover in confusion. "What?"  
  
The blond had that look of long suffering adorning his features. "I was a born again virgin and the great Harry Potter comes around and seduces me in one fell swoop! You should have been a Slytherin with your sneakiness!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes and then noticed Draco wince and lightly stroke his abdomen. Concern quickly washed over the features of the dark haired boy. "Last night... I didn't hurt you did I? I mean you said yes and something broke in me. I don't know what came over me..."  
  
The blond looked up, both eyebrows raised in surprise. "No, it was...amazing. If I'd known that girls' bodies could feel such a multitude of pleasure I might have become one sooner. I never thought girls could be so sensitive to touch. But I only want your touch... I was right about your hands Harry. Rough, but oh so gentle," he said and then took Harry's hand and rubbed his cheek against the palm. "Of course you were right."  
  
"Hmmm?" Harry moaned, with his eyes closed, enjoying the sensation of Draco's smooth cheek against his palm, and trying to fight off his growing arousal, but that, he soon found out, was a losing battle.  
  
"You said it would hurt, and it did. I was drowning, but you were there, holding me, whispering your love in my ear. You broke down my walls Harry, and I thought that would break me. You opened up my heart, and that hurts, because I can bleed again. But you also made it better. You touched me, held me, were patient, and you did try to hold back," Draco spoke softly, that gentle elemental voice music to Harry's ears. "Thank you."  
  
With that Draco leaned up on his toes and pressed his lips against Harry's, the water hitting them and flowing down their bodies, and Draco opened his mouth, morning breath be damned. And when they parted Draco noticed Harry's rising situation with a smirk.  
  
"I don't think the word stamina even begins to describe you," Draco said as his hand drifted down.  
  
Harry blushed at the comment and tried to come up with an explaination, but Draco shook his head. "Don't ruin this with explainationations, Potter. Have you any idea how often I used to think of you when I was in the shower? Albeit certain things have changed, but here you are."  
  
---------  
  
Madame Pomfrey looked in on her latest patient, Blaise Zabini. The boy had been brought in by Mr. Potter and 'Miss Marlowe'. Considering that it was rather late she'd decided to let the boy stay the night in the hospital wing. She assessed his wounds, a broken nose and more than a few bruises. She had administered a bone mending potion for the nose, a pain relieving potion for the other injuries, and a dreamless sleep potion.  
  
The effects of the last potion were beginning to wear off as the dark haired Slytherin groaned and sat up slightly. He clutched his head as though he were hungover, a slight side effect of the dreamless sleep potion and then he called out a name, a name that sent a chill through the mediwitch.  
  
"Draco?"  
  
---------  
  
Ron was about to go into another rant when a door open and shut above them. Both he and Hermione looked up to see Draco dressed in black trousers and a blood red sweater. There was obviously something different about the blonde, an almost content glow. Ron's eyes widened as his stomach churned.  
  
"Good morning Hermione. Sorry about last night..." Draco looked down with a small smile and then scowled upon seeing Ron. "And Ron, I thought you could sleep through anything. Well, never mind. Nothing is ruining this day for me. Would you care to show me Harry's trunk? He needs a change of clothes and I'm more than certain that he's a bit chilled after I left him in the bathroom with only a towel about his very trim waist."  
  
Ron's mouth fell open, as he gazed at the beautiful blonde girl that contained the soul of his rival. Hermione pushed his chin up until his mouth was closed and shot him a 'be nice or else' look. Ron gave a terse nod and walked up the stairs, every step punctuated by his anger and shock. He chanced to look at Draco again and balled up his fists. Sure the bloody ferret made an amazingly beautiful girl, but how could Harry love a Malfoy, not just any Malfoy, but Draco Malfoy? Sure Malfoy wasn't all bad, but inside that body it was still Malfoy!  
  
Draco quirked an eyebrow at Ron's show of an inner tantrum. Obviously Weasley was not taking this new development well. Draco sighed, wondering how he could ever get the approval of the redhead, because without Weasley's approval things could get decidedly more complicated with Harry in the days to come.  
  
"Weasley... Uh, Ron, look, I..." Draco began, but was cut off immediately as Ron spun around to face him.  
  
Ron's fists were clenched at his side and he spoke in a harsh even tone. "Look Malfoy, whatever you've got to say, save it. What Harry does is his business despite how awful I might think it is. There is something between the two of you, and that is painfully obvious. I think Harry has gone nutters for even entertaining giving you a chance after that day in the carriage, but he did, and he's even more nutters for continuing anything with you, especially after last night. And I don't even want to begin to think about what the two of you did last night, or how the school is going to tear him apart once they all know the truth about you. So just leave off for now! You've gone and ruined my best mate, and you can still smirk about it."  
  
The silver in Draco's eyes swirled in his anger and sent a chill up Ron's spine. The lovely elemental voice took on the vehemence of a raging glacier as the blonde spoke, "I don't bloody well give a damn about what the school says, thinks, or does. All I care about is Harry, and that is why I was seeking your sodden approval in the first place. Obviously, he thinks more highly of you than you bloody well deserve! And just so you know this! I never thought I was worthy of Harry, but somehow after everything we have gotten together, even after I tried to push him away, and on more than one occasion! This is going to be hard enough on him without you giving him grief over me! I would be more than willing to let him go if it meant he would get out of this unscathed, but he won't let me, and I'm not that strong! So go to bloody hell for all I care, but for now let me get some clothes for him and then I'll be on my way. And another thing Weasley! These past months with you and Hermione and Harry showed me what friendship was. There were no lies, no deceit, no worrying about blackmail and making enemies. How can you throw that away so easily?"  
  
Ron's cheeks grew red, not knowing how to respond to what Malfoy had just told him. He turned back to the door he'd stopped in front of, the door to the dorm he shared with Harry, Neville, Dean, and Seamus, but before he opened it Malfoy said something else.  
  
"I never wanted to ruin him. I just wanted him to choose me, but it was you he took up for and you he befriended. He chose you over me once. Don't make him do that again. After all that has happened I don't know if I could survive that. Not after learning what I could have with him. I know you hate me, you have even more reason what with my father and all, but..." Draco was cut off then.  
  
"What about your father?" Ron asked suspiciously.  
  
Draco tilted his head and then looked down at the floor, unsure if his reflection, his "guide" had been telling the truth. "Your sister, she is with child, correct?"  
  
Ron gave a rigid nod and Draco continued, "I do believe the child she carries is my sibling."  
  
Ron grabbed Draco by the throat and threw the blonde against the door. "What? Are you saying that your father! Oh, gods! What did your bastard father do to my sister?!"  
  
"The same thing he did to my mother!" Draco spat despite the firm hand Weasley had on his throat.  
  
Then the doorknob rattled, and the two of them fell into the seventh year boy's dormitory. Ron landed on Draco, and Draco let out an 'oof' as a wide eyed Neville looked down at the two of them. Ron was caught unawares as Draco shoved him off, and then scrambled to his feet. Neville wasn't the only one watching the show by this time. Both Dean and Seamus were up and watching as well, as Ron glared up at the beautiful girl that had been revealed as Draco Malfoy.  
  
As Ron began to stand up Draco drew his wand and pointed it at the redhead. "Look, I know we've not gotten along until that little truce after the holidays, but I am warning you Weasley, grab me like that again and they will be calling you weasel with good cause. I have nothing to do with my father's affairs, I never have. Now leave off and tell me which trunk is Harry's."  
  
Ron was shaking with anger so Seamus took it upon himself to speak up. "Aye, is it true? You're Draco Malfoy? But it can't be! You're, well look at you!"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Long bloody story, now will someone point out Harry's trunk?!"  
  
Neville pointed a shaky hand toward Harry's trunk, but then Dean stepped in front of the trunk and looked at the blonde girl skeptically. "Why do you want to go into his trunk? And where has he been all night? He never came to bed last night."  
  
"That is none of your concern," Draco hissed.  
  
"He was with you, wasn't he?" Dean asked and gave a snort.  
  
"Just get out of my bloody way," Draco snapped and pushed past Dean, but Dean held his ground.  
  
"Why should I you pouf?" the dark boy asked.  
  
Draco's eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you're saying you thick headed Gryffindor, now move aside."  
  
"Who was that, Zabini? You had a thing with Zabini?" Dean said with a shake of his head. "You're not fit enough to be in the same room with Harry. You should be removed from this house, and this school. Look at all the trouble you've caused, and the damage you could cause to Harry. They should break your wand. What kind of dark magic did you have to do to become this to humiliate him? And how did you fake your death."  
  
Draco's wand lifted to point at Dean Thomas. Dean looked at the wand with wide eyes. "Going to hex me are you, Malfoy? Still got a set don't you?"  
  
But before Draco could say a thing, Hermione's voice rang in the air. "What is going on here? Ron, were you trying to strangle him, and Dean? Someone better say something soon! Draco put that wand down."  
  
"Why should I?" Draco sneered.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because Harry wouldn't approve of this and you do not want to get into any trouble. Where would you go if you got expelled? You know Snape lives on the grounds, and if you got expelled I doubt you would be allowed to stay since your father is one of the twelve governors of this school, although how he got reappointed is beyond me."  
  
Draco dropped his wand hand and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "You know it's only a matter of time before he comes for me. I wonder why that never bothered me before. Weasley, you're lucky your sister isn't here. If my father knew..."  
  
"Don't say a word about my sister!" Ron's voice shook with anger.  
  
"Fair enough," Draco said, and then he gave Dean a hard shove, pulled open Harry's trunk and began to go through it.  
  
His eyes widened in distaste as he pulled out the oversized clothes and clucked in disaproval. Finally he pulled out a pair of jeans four sizes too big for Harry that were ripped at the knees and a sweater that had an 'H' on it, but the sweater was the right size, and was a Christmas gift Harry had received from the Weasleys, one of Molly Weasley's knitted wonders. Draco also grabbed a pair of boxers and then quickly stalked out of the room. Hermione who'd watched everything from the doorway followed Draco back to their room. Draco muttered the password and walked in followed by Hermione who stopped abruptly once the door had shut behind her.  
  
Harry was sitting on the edge of Draco's four-poster in nothing but a fluffy white towel, with the Hogwarts' crest on the edge of it, wrapped about his waist. Hermione's mouth fell open. Harry's eyes widened behind his glasses and his entire body flushed red.  
  
"Bloody hell! Hermione, I didn't know you would... I'm so sorry! Bugger!" He said and made a mad dash for the bathroom.  
  
Draco chuckled as he followed Harry to the bathroom and gave a knock on the door. Harry opened the door and took the clothes Draco handed him and gave a grunt as Draco said, "You know Harry, this wardrobe is a disgrace. You're a wizard and have been a student at this most wondrous establishment for the past seven years. Have you ever given any thought to transfiguring your clothing so that it would at least fit?"  
  
Despite the blush of embarassment that currently colored her cheeks, Hermione found herself laughing at what Draco had just said. He certainly had a point.  
  
---------  
  
Ron remained on the floor in the dorm room, unsure of what to say or do. Was Malfoy telling the truth? Had his father really done that to Ginny? Ron's head fell into his hands as his body gave way to grief with shudders and loud mournful sobs. Had Lucius Malfoy really torn away the innocence of his little sister?  
  
How could he make it better, easier on her? She was going to have such a hard life ahead of her as a single mother, but the mother of a Malfoy? How would she be able to move on from there? Ron nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and met the soft gaze of Neville Longbottom.  
  
Ron wiped his eyes fiercely with the back of his hand as Neville asked. "What is it?"  
  
Ron could only managed one word, a name. "Ginny."  
  
The sound that followed that one uttered word was a sound that only Ron could hear. It was a crystaline shattering, a sickening crunch, the final crunching squeeze that was his heart breaking... 


	12. Twelve: Hermione’s Suspicions

Twelve: Hermione's Suspicions  
  
It was an oddly quiet breakfast for the Gryffindors that Saturday. There were no jokes or loud boistering bouts of laughter, and Weasley especially looked worse for the wear. Oddly enough though, when Harry Potter and 'Diana Marlowe' entered Great Hall all chatter at the Gryffindor table ceased, and every single Gryffindor turned to look at the couple whose hands were interlocked. The two looked happy and proud and defiant of their fellow house members. Then Harry leaned down and whispered something into the girl's ear, and her laughter, so rich and melodic filled the air.  
  
Then the two started walking. The went to their usual seats by Hermione and Ron, but Ron got up and moved away. Odd, thought the other tables, and then something else happened, there was an odd shifting as all of the Gryffindors with the exception of Hermione and Neville Longbottom. The Gryffindors were actually moving away from their precious golden boy. And Pansy Parkinson found this most interesting.  
  
Pansy watched as the Gryffindors pointedly ignored Potter and Marlowe and found herself wondering what could make such loyal Gryffindors turn on two of their own, and then she recalled that Blaise hadn't returned from wherever he'd stormed off to last night. Just what had happened?  
  
Then a commotion began at the Gryffindor table, raised voices and the like, tearing Pansy away from her throughts. She watched as Potter stood up and then was followed by the pretty little blonde, to which Pansy thought, if that little blonde bitch were a boy, Draco might have loved her.  
  
Harry'd had more than enough, and knowing that two of Hogwart's worst gossips were indeed in his house, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, the news about Draco would get around Hogwarts sooner rather than later. He stood up, and so did Draco, who tentatively took his hand, with a few snorts from the male population of the Gryffindor table, the two approached the teacher's table. Draco noted that for once Snape was present at breakfast, a most shocking feat.  
  
There was a twinkle in Albus Dumbledore's eye as the two stood before him, McGonagall simply watched, and Snape looked at the couple with a raised eyebrow of disdain, that hid the pride for his godson despite his "feminine attributes".  
  
"Yes, Mr. Potter, Ms. Marlowe, what may I do for you?" Dumbledore said with a soft lilting to his voice.  
  
Draco was the one to speak. "You can start by saying Mr. Malfoy, or at the very least Ms. Malfoy. Whichever you prefer."  
  
Snape coughed up some of the coffee he'd just been tentatively sipping. Those present at the staff table that weren't aware of Draco Malfoy's current situation were now abruptly attentive. Snape then leaned across the table and looked at Draco.  
  
"Boy, have you any idea what you've just revealed? Are you mad?" Snape hissed.  
  
It was Harry that answered this as he gave Draco's hand a squeeze. "Our entire house already knows. There was a bit of a fight last night, and Draco has been revealed, and it is only a matter of time before the whole of the school knows. So I...we... Would much rather be the ones to tell the truth than have it all start with rumors."  
  
"And you're all right with this?" Snape asked incredulously as he looked at the blonde.  
  
Then something happened that made Snape's mouth fall agape. Draco looked up at Potter for reassurance, and those silvery gray eyes glowed with warmth and emotion. Then Potter took his hand from Draco's and put his arm about the blonde's shoulders, pulling the blonde closer to him.  
  
"Severus, honestly, close your mouth. It is Draco's decision, whether he wants to tell or not. As it is, they have done a fine job of keeping their secret for so long. It would have happened eventually. Perhaps sooner is better than later," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling away.  
  
Draco leaned into Harry and spoke, "So should you tell them? Or should I?"  
  
"I can start," Harry offered, and Draco gave a little nod.  
  
They turned back to the teacher's table and told the headmaster of their decision. Then the two turned to face the four house tables, Harry's arm protectively around Draco's shoulders. All eyes were on the couple, only the Gryffindor table knowing the truth, many Gryfifndors shaking their heads. Then the headmaster stood up, clinking his fork to gather everyone's attention, not that it was necessary.  
  
"It seems that two of your fellow classmates have something they wish to say to all of you," Dumbledore said loudly and his voice reverberated through the hall. Several Slytherins began to snicker when Pansy mockingly said, "Oh! Is Potter going to propose?"  
  
The blonde turned to her dead on, that silvery gaze locking with Pansy's blue eyes and sending a cold shiver up the girl's spine. She immediately shut up and reached shakily for her goblet of pumpkin juice. She hadn't felt a glare that intense since the last time she'd confronted Draco.  
  
Then Harry cleared his throat. "There have been many odd things happening since the arrival of Hogwart's newest student. One of which has been me falling in love with him, but that has been going on far longer than even I was aware..."  
  
"Him?" someone from the Hufflepuff table said, but was quickly shushed.  
  
Then Draco rolled his eyes and put his index finger to Harry's lips, "Shush, you're beginning to babble. This is my time to shine in the brave light of the Gryffindor house, and don't say a word, because you know I wasn't always a Gryffindor."  
  
That last comment caught everyone's attention anew. Draco then took a deep breath and addressed Great Hall. "You have all been lied to, and it was for my own safety. You were told that I was an exchange student. What you don't know is that I have attended this school for the past seven years, and this is indeed my final year here. I know there has been some speculation on who I could be. I've even heard the rumor of my being the lovechild of some muggle and Lucius Malfoy. I can assure you that I am quite legitimate, and that Lucius Malfoy is indeed my father. You see, I am not Diana Marlowe. My name is Draco Lucius Malfoy, and it is time that I reclaim my name, seeing as to how those who've grown closest to me these past months have been calling me by my real name for just as long.  
  
"I don't expect any of you to understand, nor be forgiving for the things I may have done to you. I am more than certain that I am not deserving of forgiveness for being the arrogant little shit that I once was. With all of that being said, I have two more things to say. I have obviously undergone a change. Due to a very strange Christmas present, something called a wishing stone, I have become a girl, and I will remain as such for the rest of my life. And second..." Draco paused and then turned to Harry. "Thank you, Harry."  
  
Draco then place a chaste kiss on Harry's cheek, shrugged Harry's arm off and brusquely left Great Hall, as it errupted in a flurry of questions and speculations, and Harry went after him.  
  
Dumbledore watched as Draco and then Harry left Great Hall and then turned to Severus as he said, "And that is why our young Mr. Malfoy was resorted into Gryffindor, Severus."  
  
---------  
  
Hermione could hardly believe her ears. Had Draco Malfoy really gone up in front of the entire school and told them who he really was? She smiled, glad that Harry was sticking by him, not that Harry would abandon him over something so trivial. Then Hermione's mind once again turned to the question of the wishing stone's origin. It had been bothering her since she'd first seen Draco holding it up, and then when Draco had thrown it across the room and she'd seen Draco's reflection as plain as the nose on her face.  
  
Hermione looked down toward the end of the table where a very forlorn Ron sat by himself. Something was not right with him. She sighed, momentarily putting aside her suspicions and disgust at Ron's earlier display, and went to sit beside him.  
  
He didn't even look up. He took a vicious bite from his toast and then put it down as he chewed deliberately almost as though he were making himself eat. This was strange because usually Ron would have cleared off his plate two times over by then. She put a hand on his shoulder and felt the boy shudder.  
  
"Ron, what's the matter?" she asked.  
  
He looked up and she gasped at the sight of unshed tears in his eyes, he shook his head and tried to return back to his meal, but Hermione grabbed his arm and began to haul him up to his feet. "Ron, either you can help me of I will stun you and then drag you back to the tower if I have to. Now get up, I know you aren't eating, and come with me before I embarrass you in front of the whole school."  
  
"Bloody hell, just leave me alone," he snapped.  
  
"No, and if this is about Harry and Draco..."  
  
"It's not about them. Sod Harry and his precious little Malfoy for all I care! This is nothing to do with them!" He roared and then stood up and left Great Hall of his own accord, raising more than a few eyebrows.  
  
Hermione sighed, grabbed a piece of toast, and headed off after him, feeling that this was partly her fault for getting him so riled up. She'd just finished up the toast when she saw Ron sitting by the portrait of the fat lady, his knees were drawn up to his chest and his head was been down. She knelt down before him, and gently put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Tell me, if this isn't about Harry then what is it?" she asked, her words softly spoken.  
  
He looked up, tears in his blue eyes. "Ginny, you know why she's been kept out of school this year. When I found out my reaction was worse than mum and dad's reactions combined. She's my little sister. I was supposed to look after her, be big brother. I turned around and she was gone, just like that, and then she turned up the next day. She was so quiet and withdrawn. She wouldn't tell us where she'd been. And then we found that she was going to have a baby. She wouldn't tell us who the father was, but now I know. Oh, gods do I know, and I wish I didn't. Bloody hell, Hermione, how did this happen to her? She could have so much in life and now she is stuck caring for a baby and being frowned upon by the entire wizarding world. There are no single mothers in our world unless they are widowed."  
  
Hermione awkwardly put her arms around him and then he put his knees down and clung to her, wanting to hide away from all the world and his pain. She shushed him and whispered soothing things against his ear as she rubbed his back in slow circles.  
  
"Who is it Ron? If this has you so torn up, it must be someone you know. It couldn't be Neville or Seamus or Dean. What about Colin Creevey?" she asked, thinking Ginny had made a secret rendezvous with an unknown boyfriend.  
  
He just looked up at her and shook his head, then he took a deep breath and managed to speak. "No, Mione, she was attacked. The father of her child is Lucius Malfoy."  
  
All of the color drained out of Hermione's face, and she felt tears sting her own eyes and fall in streams down her cheeks. "Oh, Ron, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."  
  
"Not as sorry as he's going to be..." Ron said with malice and then his face contorted in fear. "How do I tell her I know? Do you think I should get her to tell mum and dad? They think she was attacked, but she won't say a damn thing. At least now I know why. How could someone be so evil? She's just a girl, an innocent girl, and my sister! Why?"  
  
"Sometimes bad things happen, but there might still be good in it. She's going to have a baby, and even with the circumstances concerning its conception, she is still capable of loving it, because she didn't give it up as she could have. This is going to be painful, and difficult, but if she can take this on, and want to keep the baby, then you can be there for her. You have to be strong for her," Hermione spoke softly, and then pushed him away so that she could look him in the eyes. "And maybe when you hold that baby you will know that it wasn't the baby's fault or Ginny's. Evil slips in and leaves pieces behind, but it's up to us how we put things back together. Don't blame the baby. And don't blame Ginny. I'm sure she has been through more than enough. And don't blame Draco. The only one at fault is Lucius Malfoy, and he will be dealt with soon enough. And if you do decide to go to your parents talk with her first. It's not your story to tell. It's hers."  
  
"Thank you," he whispered softly and then wiped his eyes. "You know, you have this annoying habit of always being right. Where do you get it from?"  
  
Hermione shrugged. "Sometimes I wish I knew."  
  
---------  
  
Draco was in the room he shared with Hermione. He was laying face down on the bed, his face turned to the wall, hands hugging the pillow Harry had slept on fiercely. And that was how Harry found him.  
  
Harry slowly walked into the room, unsure of what to expect. And he was given no reassurances by the blonde who laid unmoving on his bed. Harry tentatively sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on Draco's right shoulder blade, lightly rubbing it. The blonde gave a little moan and then leaned up on his elbows. He then turned to face the dark haired boy, his eyes both alight and shadowed with emotion swimming in those silvery gray depths.  
  
"How is it that you can be so good and so loyal? How is that you can face them all and still comfort me as though we were the only ones there? How can you look at me the way you do?" Draco asked, his voice slightly shaky.  
  
Harry sighed. "What do I have to do to make you realize that I care about you? That I love you? They don't matter, because they don't speak for me or how I feel. Silly git! I wouldn't have made love to you if I didn't care! I wouldn't be here now if I didn't care. Don't make me repeat the blast-ended skrewt comment I said to Snape."  
  
"Blast-ended skrewt?" Draco asked in curiousity.  
  
"Dammit," Harry said and then shook his head, a grin curving his lips. "I told Snape that I would have loved you even if you'd been changed into a blast-ended skrewt, and then I went on to say something about how ill tempered a blast-ended skrewt you would make."  
  
"You compared me to one of those things?!" Draco said indignantly. "Why I never! How dare you!"  
  
"I wasn't too far off with the ill temper bit, obviously," Harry cut in.  
  
Draco's mouth fell open as he was caught off guard with nothing to say to that. Harry let out a chuckle and then continued, "Blast-ended skrewts aside, the point is that I'm not going to turn away from you. I can't. You feel like my other half and when I'm not around you I'm missing pieces of myself."  
  
"I know what you mean," Draco spoke softly in reflection and then he looked up at Harry shyly. "This is all new to me, Potter...Harry. It has hit me hard, and I always just thought it was attraction, in that respect I was wrong. Just know that I reciprocate your sentiment, and find our attachment to be one of flourishing potential."  
  
Harry shook his head. "You and your elegant speeches."  
  
"And you and your Gryffindor sentimentality," Draco shot back playfully.  
  
---------  
  
"Ron?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You can let go of me now. I mean seeing how you are better now, I have something that I need to do," she said.  
  
"Oh, and what's more important than your formerly distraught best friend?" he asked.  
  
"Well," she began. "It's about Draco, I just..."  
  
"Not him again!" Ron cut her off.  
  
"No, this is serious! I mean, who would have sent him that stone? Were their intentions good or bad, and did they know the possibilities of what could have happened? What if they knew and targeted this specifically against Draco or even Harry?"  
  
"You make it sound like a conspiracy, and why all of this sudden interest?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "This isn't just sudden interest! I've been looking into wishing stones. They are very rare and usually not made from moonstone, because of moonstone's dreaming qualities. They are almost always blue lace agate and were enchanted by ancient magics. These stones are said to be enchanted by the ancient faye of Avalon. And there was one occurrence of a moonstone being enchanted as one such wishing stone. This stone was enchanted by Morgana Le Faye herself! According to what I read, she wore the moonstone and one other wishing stone that was a perfect flat circle with a hole in its center made of blue lace agate, a milpreve. The milpreve was believed to be her stone of power, but the moonstone she herself transformed into a wishing stone. What if the stone Draco wears is that stone?"  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that Malfoy has stumbled across some old hoodoo from Morgana Le Faye's day? Bloody hell Mione! Are you trying to make me laugh! This is Malfoy we're talking about! How could he get something like that?"  
  
"I don't know, and that is what troubles me," she answered.  
  
"There's something else isn't there?" Ron asked.  
  
Hermione nodded. "Yes. I've seen Draco's reflection, and it was in his old form, his male form. Draco, he was angry and he broke the chain and threw the stone across the room and then his reflection manifested itself and called itself his guardian. It's almost as if the stone were meant to go to him."  
  
"Yeah right! Morgana Le Faye made that little bauble bout Malfoy's neck specifically for him. Have you heard yourself?" Ron asked and pulled a face.  
  
"She was a catalyst in altering fate, and Draco Malfoy's fate has certainly been altered. Of course even if Morgana Le Faye has nothing to do with Malfoy's current condition with the exception of creating the magic of the stone he wears, someone did send it to him!" Hermione snapped.  
  
"Fine, so what are your theories?"  
  
"I've given that a great deal of thought, and..." Hermione trailed not knowing how to tell Ron. "I... I doubt it was a student that gave him that stone. The only person I can come up with who would have access to that stone and know Draco Malfoy is Professor Dumbledore."  
  
"Don't be thick! Why would Dumbledore give something like that to anyone, let alone Malfoy?"  
  
"Maybe he had his reasons. It's not so hard to believe you know. He does tend to nudge people into unfamiliar directions, and I would say this is an unfamiliar direction in the case of Malfoy."  
  
"But the headmaster? You've turned this into some sort of conspiracy."  
  
"Not necessarily Ron, you're just being dramatic."  
  
And with that the argument died between them. Hermione gave the password to the portrait of the fat lady and then went into the Gryffindor common room. A few minutes later Ron followed. Still Hermione couldn't shake the feeling of unease about the stone, and the possibility that it might have been a gift from Dumbledore. Why couldn't the old codger have sent Malfoy a pair of socks like he sent everyone else? 


	13. Thirteen: With Potter by the Lake

Thirteen: With Potter By The Lake  
  
A week had passed since the startling announcement made by Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. It was still a rather delectable piece of gossip and rumors were flying about a curse and Draco bewitching Harry. The Gryffindors were beginning to warm up to Harry again, but Draco was hardly spoken to by anyone other than Harry, Hermione, and Neville. Every now and then Ron would nod in his direction, but little was ever spoken by the redhead.  
  
In fact Ron was unusually quiet. He kept to himself more and usually only spoke with Hermione. Harry had tried to get him to talk a few times, but Ron always shut down and began a half hearted conversation on Quidditch or the absurdity of still being in Divination.  
  
Most of the students would stare at the sight of Malfoy in the halls, but Draco simply held his head up high and Harry was often walking with him between classes. The two could be seen sometimes holding hands or with Harry's arm about Draco's shoulder. The two seemed to be happy in whatever relationship they had.  
  
Meanwhile the Slytherin house was in tatters. Their most prized member, despite his curious ways was gone, and had become a Gryffindor no less. Blaise was also snubbed, and Pansy was in a constant foul mood, worse than when Draco used to push her away. Crabbe and Goyle just took up following Pansy's command, and fell into their usual role of life. Still the senior Slytherins, all of which had taken the mark, with the exception of Blaise, were coming up with ways to settle with Malfoy and Potter. After all it had to have been some scheme to steal away Malfoy, to change him and make him defy his father and the Dark Lord.  
  
Still Pansy knew the truth. Draco had never been one to follow the Dark Lord, he was too wrapped up in other things, and she'd finally figured out what. All the time she thought he'd had a thing for Blaise, and it had really been Potter. There were only a few things that she was unsure of. How long had he and Potter really been involved? Was the whole wishing stone thing a lie? What were Lucius Malfoy's thoughts on all of this?  
  
And then there was a new rumor circulating about why the youngest Weasley had been pulled out of school. Rumors ran wild about the youngest Weasley caught in an affair with an older man, a married man, and how she was now with child. Of course at the sight of Ron all such talk was immediately silenced, but once he was out of sight that talk was brought up again. Between wondering who the father of the Weasley girl's baby was and the topic of Harry and Draco's love life, there was little room for any other gossip.  
  
And it was the beginning of the second week after the Potter-Malfoy announcement that fate took a turn, a turn in the form of Pansy Parkinson and a shaky Gryffindor...  
  
Monday, and their first class was Double Potions with the Slytherins. Draco sighed as he checked his robes for wrinkles and ran a hand through his long silvery blonde hair. He looked in the mirror over the bathroom sink, wondering when it would be over and the staring and gossip would stop.  
  
He had left Great Hall for a trip to the loo, because of all the stares directed his way. Did they honestly think he couldn't feel their eyes on him? Harry, of course, was ignoring them, but Draco found that ignoring them was a hard task. He took one last look at his reflection when the bell rang. He picked up his school bag left the girl's loo and headed toward the dungeons, wondering if today was the day the Slytherins would make their move. They had been oddly quiet in their activity since the announcement. Sure they stared with the rest of the school, but they had yet to say or do anything to Draco, but that made Draco nervous, because he knew that when the Slytherins were quiet, they were plotting something.  
  
Draco was lost in his thoughts when he reached the dungeons and ran into someone blocking the door of the Potions classroom. Draco apologized and then realized who he'd run into. Goyle. He looked up slowly curious as to what was going on. He raised his eyebrow and shot a glare at the bulky Slytherin.  
  
"What is this Goyle? Out of my way," Draco snapped.  
  
Goyle wasn't the one to respond though. Instead a voice so annoying that it could only belong to Pansy Parkinson said, "Oh, Drakie, darling, whatever really happened to you? You know we all missed you at that little meeting that was on your birthday, and then the news of your disappearance was almost overbearing. Then your death reported. But you're here now. Tell me Drakie, how has Potter been treating you over the years? I mean the two of you are so close it's nauseating. How long were you fucking him and betraying your house and your name? Come on Drakie, you can tell me! We're old friends!"  
  
"Parkinson..." Draco spoke with a cold edge to his elemental voice, but before he could continue a deep male voice, the voice of chivalrous Gryffindor pride that belonged to none other than Harry Potter, cut in.  
  
"What is going on here? Draco, are you all right?"  
  
Draco's eyes narrowed as he shot a glance in Harry's direction. "Damn you, Potter! I'm not fragile! I'm not spun glass, and I won't break with a few insults from a little pug-faced Slytherin bitch!"  
  
With that Draco violently pushed past Pansy and stalked away, fully intent on skipping class and being off on his own.  
  
"Oh, a little lover's spat?" Pansy said and then she grabbed Harry by the collar, her nails digging into the fabric, her voice lethal and barely above a whisper, "If he ever calls me a bitch again I will rip his pretty little face to ribbons. This cat has claws, and she is not afraid to use them. Tell him that for me."  
  
Harry looked down at her, his green eyes burning with anger. When she released his hold on her, he lowered his head until they were only inches apart and he spoke through clenched teeth. "Threaten him again and you will think a Cruciatus on behalf of your precious Dark Lord nothing compared to what I will do to you."  
  
Then Harry went off in the direction that Draco had, feeling the need to do something about whatever had just happened. He rushed up the stairs past Hermione and Ron, who looked at him with raised eyebrows, both realizing that he was planning on skipping Potions. Hermione nearly went after him, but Ron stopped her.  
  
She looked up at the redhead incredulously. "He is going to miss Snape's class!"  
  
"He has his reasons. Let's just leave him and hope for the best. Wish I were as brave to skip one of Snape's classes," Ron said and a smile twisted his lips.  
  
Hermione's eyes brightened at the sight of the smile on her friend's face. She hadn't seen one cross his face since that day, when Ron had confronted Malfoy. Her eyes widened as she began to realize just how handsome he looked when he smiled. Just then Ron looked down at her and heat rose in her cheeks.  
  
"What is it, Mione?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, uh..."  
  
"Caught you at a loss for words? You all right? Maybe we should see Madame Pomfrey."  
  
Hermione shook her head. "No, I'm fine, really. Just a bit worried is all."  
  
The two then hurried down the stairs and walked into the classroom mere moments away from being late. They noticed many Gryffindors were sending glares in the direction of the Slytherins. Something had obviously been going on and it had to do with Harry, and Draco was nowhere to be seen in the class. Their work table was empty, and Snape's eyes were turned in that direction his eyes calculating, and then he turned to the board and began class as though nothing were amiss.  
  
---------  
  
Draco didn't stop until he was well away from the dungeons and was out on the castle grounds. Eventually he sat down in a huff, took in his surroundings, and his mouth fell open. He was in the place that had appeared in his dreams. Sitting on a grassy knole by the lake, not too far from the Forbidden Forest.  
  
"Why does it always seem to come back to this place?" he whispered to himself.  
  
He sighed and then threw himself back so that he was laid out on the ground, arms flung out, looking up at the sky, and then a face shot into his line of vision. A handsome face with a slightly golden complexion, rosy hued lips, green eyes, and a scar on its forehead, and this handsome masculine face was framed by a messy mop of black hair.  
  
"Potter," Draco let out in one breath.  
  
"Why are you mad at me?" Harry asked and then took a seat by Draco.  
  
Draco sat up on his elbows and looked at the dark haired boy. "You try to fight my battles for me, dammit! I'm tired of it. In case you haven't noticed I can fight for myself, and it was Parkinson! I could handle her any day!"  
  
"What about Goyle? He was looking rather menacingly at you," Harry pointed out.  
  
"I am a wizard...witch at any rate and I do believe I am quite capable of stunning the great oaf, and don't even mention Crabbe, he couldn't function without Goyle, and don't ask how I know that!"  
  
Harry made a terrible face. "I don't even want to think about what that implies."  
  
"Why are you here, Harry?"  
  
"I care, and I want to know what's wrong. Isn't that enough of a reason to be here?"  
  
Draco gave him a condescending look and then noticed that Harry was fiddling with something in his pocket. Draco rasied his eyebrow and with a nod indicated Harry's pocket. "What have you got there?"  
  
Harry's face flushed scarlet. "I... It's..."  
  
"What? It's not something that bites is it? You haven't got one of Hagrid's 'little' beasties in there have you?" Draco asked with a grin and reached for Harry's fidgety hand.  
  
Harry took a deep breath, shook his head, and then his green eyes locked with Draco's gray. "I have something that I've been meaning to ask you. But first I should tell you something. I have something for you, and it means a lot to me. I had to write Remus to get it, and he was surprised that I wanted it, but he sent it never the less, and he told me a bit about it."  
  
"Does this have a point?"  
  
Harry blushed again. "Yes..." He stopped and then pulled a small gray velvet box out of his pocket. Draco looked at the box suspiciously as Harry continued. "This was my mother's. My father got it for her, because he wanted her to know how much he loved her, and it reminded him of her eyes. I have her eyes..." Harry stopped again, all fidgeting and nervous.  
  
"Are you all right? You look sick," Draco said.  
  
Harry took a deep breath and then opened the box. Draco's eyes fell on the box, and his mouth fell open. Inside was a golden band set with a round one karat emerald, with two small diamonds on either side of the emerald. Harry took the ring out of the box and took Draco's left hand.  
  
"Will you marry me?"  
  
Draco's eyes widened as he watched Harry slip the ring on his his left ring finger, and his voice caught in his throat.  
  
"I..."  
  
Harry brought his finger to Draco's pale lips. "You don't have to answer now, just keep this ring and think about it. I will understand, whatever your answer."  
  
Draco was speechless as he looked down at the ring and then up to Harry, finally finding his voice. "This was your mother's engagement ring?"  
  
The dark haired boy nodded. "And I couldn't think of anyone else I would rather give it to."  
  
"But I haven't given you an answer."  
  
Harry smiled. "I told you you didn't have to answer now. Just wear it, and think of me every time you look at it."  
  
Draco sat up the rest of the way and took Harry's face between his palms and kissed the boy with all of his might. Harry was taken by surprise, but soon found himself giving in to Draco's eager tongue. Then Harry's arms wrapped around Draco's waist and drew the girl that was Draco Malfoy close against his body.  
  
The two parted panting wildly and Draco had a strange look on his feminine face. Harry looked up at the blonde and pushed back strands of pale hair out of Draco's face.  
  
"You would ask me to marry you even after everything? After all that I've done to you for the past seven years, and for everything we've been through these past months?"  
  
Harry nodded. Draco smiled and then said, "Then you have your answer. If you will have me, then I suppose I can have you. Have you always gotten what you wanted, Potter?"  
  
"Not always, but it seems that my fate is changing..."  
  
---------  
  
Albus Dumbledore found himself drawn to the window of his office. He looked down and caught sight of something that seemed both new and familiar. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at the sight of the young lovers by the lake. He'd witness almost the exact same scene when James Potter had proposed to Lily Evans. It had been in that very place.  
  
"Ah, how history so often repeats itself. I only hope that fate is better this second time, for those two deserve such happiness," he said.  
  
"What are you looking at Albus? I did not leave my class to discuss old times. What is this about?"  
  
"Come Severus, look down there by the lake."  
  
Severus stood up and walked to the window and looked out of it. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared at the scene of the dark haired boy holding the pale fair haired girl. He was clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles popped. Albus simply smiled at the scene and sighed.  
  
"So that is why they chose to skip my class? They are off snogging together!" the Potions Master snapped.  
  
Albus chuckled. "I think the occasion is more important and special than that. Use a charm to look more closely and you will notice a very familiar ring on young Draco's left hand."  
  
Snape did as the headmaster proposed and gasped. "Bloody hell! Albus, that was Lily's engagement ring. You don't think..."  
  
"I'm sure they will approach either myself or you soon enough to make arrangements... There is also other news that the two will find most interesting. It seems that even these times of darkness might have their moments of light."  
  
"Quit being cryptic and tell me what you mean!"  
  
"All shall present itself in time, Severus. Now, you should really consider working on your patience," the headmaster paused and then seemed to think of something. "Oh, yes, and Remus is requesting another batch of the Wolfsbane Potion, and he mentioned that Harry had requested the most peculiar thing, his mother's engagement ring. Now Remus is quite curious to whom Harry might give it to."  
  
"A Malfoy engaged to a Potter," Snape said and grabbed the window seal to steady himself. "I do believe that hell has frozen over and ice skating has become a very popular sport in that location."  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "Now, Severus, don't be so dramatic. It was bound to happen sometime. Those two have been drawn together for years. What with Draco's transformation it was only a matter of time."  
  
"Have you any idea what his father will do upon finding this out?" Snape asked.  
  
The headmaster nodded and then said, "Yes, I have an idea, but as I understand it, I believe that Lucius will find himself more concerned about the welfare of Molly and Arthur Weasley's daughter."  
  
"What?" Snape asked in bewilderment.  
  
Dumbledore's expression appeared grave now. "It would seem that the reason Miss Weasley is not in attendence at school this year is do to her condition, as you know. A condition caused by none other than Lucius Malfoy. It appears that Draco will have a sibling soon."  
  
Snape's mouth fell open and an expression of horror passed over his face, but he soon recovered and then fell back into one of the plush chairs in Dumbledore's office. "Albus? He... defiled the Weasley girl? Do her parents know?"  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "No, but her brother, Ron, and Draco Malfoy know."  
  
"How many lives are left to be ruined by the taint of the mark?" Severus Snape asked and then absently rubbed his left forearm with a look of disgust on his face.  
  
"I don't know," answered Dumbledore. "I truly do not know."  
  
---------  
  
Draco sighed and leaned into Harry, his back pressed against Harry's chest. Time seemed to stand still and lose all its power as they sat there in an embrace of love and peace. Harry dropped his chin on Draco's shoulder and breathed in the scent of the blonde girl's hair and skin, so close to his nose. With every breath he inhaled he thought of fresh rain and lilies, and he found himself wondering what his father had thought when he smelled his mother. He hadn't even realized that tears were trailing his cheeks until Draco turned a bit to look at him.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Harry lifted a hand and wiped his cheeks and swallowed past the heavy lump in his throat. "I just wondered how my father proposed to my mother. I wondered what she smelled like. If it was of fresh rain and lilies, like you. There is so much I don't know about them..."  
  
"I'm sorry that you never knew them," Draco whispered.  
  
"Me too," sighed Harry. "Tell me, Draco, what were your parents like?"  
  
Draco snorted. "You know about Lucius. The man is only self involved. As for my mother, she had her moments, but she left me at Lucius' mercy, and before I left I told her I wanted none of her anymore. I assume she was rather distraught over my departure, and then this happened.  
  
"If you are asking if they were ever in love then I must say that I do not believe so. Their marriage was arranged, between the Blacks and the Malfoys. My father once told me about their wedding night. She refused him so he took her... He forced her and I was the result. He got his heir to continue the name. I think she hated him, still hates him, but she fears him..."  
  
Harry's eyes widened in horror, and his arms tightened protectively around Draco's waist. "That will never be us. I don't ever want you to hate me or be afraid of me. Nothing will ever hurt you again if I can help it."  
  
Draco gave a little lilting laugh. "You can't always be there, and you know it. There will be times when I will be hurt regardless. That is life. Just as there are times when you will be hurt. But I am strong enough to protect myself. I mean, I've survived the Malfoy household for eighteen years, so I'm fairly certain that I'm able to take what life tosses my way. And you, you've survived countless encounters with the Dark Lord and his minions. Don't try to protect me Harry. Just be there when I need you."  
  
"Always," Harry murmured against the blonde's ear. 


	14. Fourteen: An Unannounced Visit…or Two

Fourteen: An Unannounced Visit...or Two  
  
It had been a strange day. Harry and Draco had actually skipped all of their classes and lunch, just enjoying each other's company by the lake, talking, and neither were disturbed by students or teachers. When the sun had set and darkness began to descend over the grounds Draco's stomach gave a rumbling growl in demand of food.  
  
Harry looked at Draco, an odd smile on his face and then he let out a laugh. "Sounds like you're hungry. It should be about time for dinner. Let's get back to the castle and go to Great Hall, of course if we've missed dinner I know a few house elves down in the kitchen."  
  
Draco's eyes widened. "Potter! You do realize that I've missed an entire day of classes because of you!"  
  
"But was it so bad?" Harry grinned.  
  
Draco slowly let out a breath and shook his head while rolling his eyes dramatically. "Insufferable git, and a bad influence. Just what have I gone and decided to marry?"  
  
Harry's face was again alight with a silly grin and then he stood up, took Draco's hand and pulled the blonde girl up, kissed that dainty nose he loved so much, and then those pale lips he could never get enough of and said, "So, this mean you will have me?"  
  
"As much as I am certain to regret it later, yes," Draco sighed dramatically and then swatted the dark haired boy on the arm.  
  
Harry laughed and then hook his arm around the girl's waist and the two of them set off for the castle together, every now and then the girl lifted her left hand and those gray eyes sparkled at the small token of love present on the ring finger of that particular hand. That was how the two of them walked into Great Hall together.  
  
Sensing something was different silence fell heavy upon all those present in Great Hall as they turned and saw Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy enter together. The headmaster had a particular twinkle in his eye, and a certain Potions professor was glaring daggers. Harry and Draco then walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat in their usual places, with Draco sitting between Hermione and Harry and Ron across from Hermione, the conversation once again picked up. Unfortunately the gossip queens were right next to Ron in discussion over some Ravenclaw scandal.  
  
Trouble began ofcourse when Draco reached for the lambchops and Lavender Brown noticed the glint from the ring on Draco's hand. She squealed and jumped up in her seat, then snatched Draco's hand to get a better inspection of the ring.  
  
"Oh! It's gorgeous! Wherever did you get it?" she said gushing and then snatched his hand further to show Parvati, which almost resulted in Draco's face colliding with his plate.  
  
Draco snatched his hand back and glared at the two gossips, and snapped, "Kindly control yourselves and never partake in grabbing and manhandling any part of me ever again!"  
  
Lavender rolled her eyes and then Parvati repeated her friend's question. "Well! Wherever did you get it?"  
  
"From me," Harry answered, and the two gossips shared a look.  
  
"I see," said Lavender and then a smile tugged at her lips. "That looks most suspiciously like some sort of engagement ring..."  
  
"It is," Harry replied and then after receiving a sharp elbow in the ribs from Draco, he continued, "And it belonged to my mother. Now it belongs to Draco."  
  
"Oh!" Parvati squealed. "So when is the wedding?!"  
  
At this loudly spoken question the entire Gryffindor table grew silent and all eyes turned to Harry and Draco. Harry was scarlet and Draco was glaring at him. Everyone seemed to be awaiting an answer and Ron and Hermione stared at Harry with opened mouths of disbelief, and Ron just happened to look most unnattractive at the moment with his mouth hanging open as it was filled with half-chewed chicken.  
  
"We h-ha-haven't d-decided o-o-on a d-d-date, yet," Harry managed to stutter out.  
  
Before anymore questions could be asked the double doors of Great Hall were thrown open and there stood the proud and obviously angry Lucius Malfoy dressed in elegantly cut black robes trimmed in silver. His snake head topped cane clutched firmly in his hands as he regally walked into the room. He glared at the headmaster and then surveyed the room as if looking for someone. His gaze stopped on the beautiful silvery blonde fair skinned girl sitting next to Harry Potter.  
  
Lucius approached the Gryffindor table, disgust obvious in his every gracious movement as he stopped and looked down at the girl that was now turned and looking up at him.  
  
"Well, boy, what have you to say for yourself?" the man spoke, the icy chill of the North wind in his voice.  
  
Draco looked up at the man defiantly. "Why nothing, father. I thought this was over that night when I left the manor."  
  
"You are still my..." Lucius' eyebrow rose as he sneered in disgust at the girl that his son had become. "...child. And as such I believe I am entitled to receive the utmost respect from you."  
  
"You deserve nothing from me, not after what happened," Draco hissed and then noticed that several teachers including Snape were approaching. Draco turned to them and held his hand up to them. The teachers froze and looked at the girl in confusion. Obviously they couldn't move.  
  
Lucius looked at the girl that was his son and then at the hand, the left hand that was keeping the teachers from approaching. Lucius' cold gray eyes met Draco's silvery gray and then strayed to the black haired boy beside Draco.  
  
"I see, Draco," Lucius said. "You've gotten your precious little Potter. Is there some scandal involved in your engagement or is this from the bottom of his noble Gryffindor heart? And that ring... I've seen it before. Why it couldn't be the ring that Potter the elder gave his precious mudblood?"  
  
Harry stood up then. "Don't you ever speak of my mother like that!"  
  
Lucius almost gave a retort when he noticed the murderous gaze he was receiving from a red haired boy sitting across from the mudblood. "Ah, a Weasley, and where might that little minx of a sister of yours be?"  
  
Ron jumped up and nearly jumped over the table to get to Lucius, but Harry managed to grab him before he could reach the man.  
  
"Let me go, Harry! I could rip him apart!" the redhead bellowed.  
  
Lucius smirked. "You in your little hand me down robes and Weasley temper? That's almost laughable."  
  
"Ron, you can't take him on! He's a fully grown man and he knows the Dark Arts! Be sensible!" Hermione hissed.  
  
"But he hurt Ginny! He's! Oh Merlin," Ron said and then he broke down.  
  
This peaked Lucius Malfoy's interest. "I'm what, Weasley?"  
  
"Father, leave this place before I allow the teachers to move once again," Draco warned.  
  
"Silence, disgrace. How dare you even speak to me after promising yourself to a Potter. Tainting the Malfoy name and blood with a Potter," Lucius said and then once again he turned his attention to Ron Weasley. "Now what do you mean by saying that I've hurt this Ginny? You don't mean that little redhead sister of yours... What's her name... Virginia?"  
  
Ron glared up into those cold gray eyes of Lucius Malfoy. "You know what you did to my sister! You should never have been allowed the ability to have children! You bastard! How could you? She was innocent! Now she will suffer for the rest of her life with a..." Harry covered his friend's mouth before the boy could reveal too much.  
  
"With a what?" Malfoy the elder asked suspiciously.  
  
"Leave now, Father," Draco warned again.  
  
"Not before I know what this little commoner disgrace of purebloods is implying."  
  
Minerva McGonagall struggled against the invisible force that kept her immobile as she realized exactly what Ronald Weasley was implying. Her voice raised across Great Hall as she said, "How dare you come to this place! Leave at once."  
  
"Minerva, leave it. We can do nothing until Draco removes this spell," Albus said tightly.  
  
Lucius then leaned closer until his face was bare inches from Ron's and hissed, "Is your sister with child, boy?"  
  
Ron's blue eyes met hatefully with gray. Lucius snatched Harry's hand away from Ron's mouth and then Ron spat in Lucius' face. The blond wizard reeled back and kicked the redhead. "That, boy, was for your impertinence, now answer my question."  
  
Ron looked defiantly into the face that represented evil to him. "Yes."  
  
Luicius gave a sharp nod and then turned to Draco. "Well boy, this presents a most interesting turn in events. I may have to make new arrangements concerning the affairs of my estate in the event of my permanent departure. Oh, and Draco, your mother has been rather distraught at the news that has been reported in the tabloids. Honestly, you should send her an owl, if only for courtousy."  
  
Lucius then turned and briskly walked out of the Great Hall. Draco waited for five minutes giving the man time to leave the grounds, reach the gate, and Apparate as far from Hogwarts as he could manage. Then Draco lowered his hand and the teachers approached the scene at the Gryffindor table.  
  
All of the other house tables filled with students watched in stunned silence, still reeling from the events of moments before. And one thing was on everyone's mind. How had Draco Malfoy kept the teachers from approaching without the use of a wand?  
  
"Well, Malfoy, would you care to explain how on earth you kept us from coming to your aid?" Professor Minerva McGonagall asked, her voice hard edged and angry, as a few of the other teachers decided to check the grounds to make sure that Lucius Malfoy really was gone.  
  
"I..." Draco paused and swallowed thickly. He'd never been too comfortable around the Transfiguation teacher. "I am not certain."  
  
"Maybe I should question him...her...Draco," Snape said in frustration.  
  
"Very well," McGonagall snapped in irritation.  
  
The headmaster looked at the young blonde woman and the dark haired young man at her side with his arms wrapped around the blonde's delicate waist and his twinkle brightened. In light of those most shocking events of previous moments past, happiness was still possible. There was such great hope in the young.  
  
"Potter, Malfoy, Weasley, come with me," Snape said and he began to walk out of Great Hall and turned toward the passage that led to the dungeons.  
  
Harry, Draco, and Ron had no choice but to follow, and as they were leaving Great Hall they heard Dumbledore announce, "All of you return to your common rooms. Your dinners shall be continued there, but only this once due to the circumstances."  
  
---------  
  
The three Gryffindors followed Professor Snape into the dungeons and then he stopped before a blank wall at the end of a corridor. He tapped several bricks in an odd sequence, muttered something and then a doorway appeared leading into an astonishingly elegant set of rooms that were decorated in black, dark greens, and silver.  
  
The three followed the professor into the rooms and the doorway prompty closed behind them. They were in the main room where a large fireplace was against a wall lined with shelves upon shelves of various books ranging from Muggle poetry to Dark Arts and Arithmancy. Ron and Harry looked around the room in stunned silence, ofcourse Draco was already familiar with the rooms.  
  
Snape approached the fireplace and pointed his hand toward the hearth. "Incendio!"  
  
Draco looked at Snape in confusion and then realization dawned on his face. "Where are we going Uncle Sev?"  
  
"To the Weasleys, and don't call me that," he snapped.  
  
Ron and Harry looked at each other and then to Snape, before they asked in unison, "Why?"  
  
Snape rolled his eyes. "How do you think the Weasleys are going to respond when Lucius Malfoy decides to pay them a visit and claim the child? Draco has disgarced and betrayed him and although this new child is illigitimate, it is still a pawn that he can use. Mr. Weasley, your parents need to be told now, because this will most certainly become common knowledge and soon."  
  
"And we're all going?" Ron asked nervously.  
  
"Students are not to leave Hogwarts grounds during the school year unless accompanied by Hogwarts staff or their parents or guardians," Snape said in a long suffering manner.  
  
Ron nodded and within a few moments everyone had taken a pinch of floo powder from a metal tin box situated above the fireplace and soon found themselves in at the Burrow much to the astonishment of Molly, Arthur, and Ginny Weasley who had been in the kitchen eating dinner.  
  
The three rushed out and were surprised to see Professor Snape, Ron, Harry, and a strange fair skinned blonde haired girl in their living room. Molly approached first and by the look on her face she was wondering if Ron and Harry had finally done something to get them expelled. She was about to speak when Snape held up his hand and shook his head.  
  
"Please Mrs. Weasley. This is not about your son," Snape said. "This is about your daughter."  
  
Molly Weasley turned to her very pregnant little girl who was due in a couple of months. She took a deep breath and invited everyone to sit, but then she caught sight of a very familiar ring on the blonde girl's finger.  
  
"Oh, Harry, dear, when were you going to tell us you were engaged? And just who is this lovely young lady?" Molly asked, in a motherly tone.  
  
Harry's face burned scarlet. "I asked him just this morning..."  
  
"Him?" Arthur and Molly said together in shock.  
  
The girl smiled faintly and looked at the two Weasley parents. "I am Draco Malfoy."  
  
The color in Ginny Weasley's face drained and she stared at the blonde girl and then clutched protectively at her stomach backing away slowly. "Y-you, you st-stay a-a-away from me! I want nothing from you. I mean it!"  
  
"Virginia Weasley! What has gotten into you?" Molly scolded and then she noticed her daughter holding her bulging stomach and looking in terror at the girl that had introduced herself as Draco Malfoy.  
  
Molly went to her daughter and tried to calm her as well as shield her from view, and then Arthur Weasley spoke up, "What is this about?"  
  
"Well, Mr. Weasley, I am engaged to Draco Malfoy. There was an incident and he was transformed into a girl and it is permanent. And we also know who the father of Ginny's baby is..." Harry trailed, unable to continue.  
  
Arthur Weasley looked at the panicked state of his daughter and then to the blonde girl who was clutching Harry's hand in a death grip. "Who was it? It wasn't Malfoy?"  
  
"Actually Dad," Ron said and then looked down. "It was."  
  
Arthur looked murderous as he approached the blonde girl. However Snape stepped in his path and spoke in his deep voice, "It was not this Malfoy. The father of your daughter's child is Lucius."  
  
Arthur collapsed to his knees and both Ginny and Molly let out a sob. Molly clutched her daughter to her and Ron knelt by his dad putting his hand on the older man's shoulder. Then Harry headed toward Molly, Draco clinging to his hand followed. Harry looked at Draco, and the blonde released his hand, then Harry wrapped his arms around the two sobbing Weasley woman and was smothered in a group hug as Molly clung to him as well as her daughter. Draco stood there unsure of what to do, and then turned to Snape who looked just as uncomfortable.  
  
When the Weasley's finally regained control of their emotions they all looked at Draco. Harry noticed the looks they were giving him and then put his arm around Draco's shoulder. Harry was about to speak, but Draco pressed his index finger to Harry's lips and shook his head, then Draco opened his mouth.  
  
"I am truly sorry for the things that my father has done to you over the years and for this. The reason we came tonight was to warn you that my father might have plans for the child. I was subjected to eighteen years of my father, and I don't want to think of another child being put through that. I can understand if you never like me, or want me in your home again, but I would like to know about my little brother or sister from time to time, and don't shut Harry out because of me. You're the only family he's ever known, and he needs you."  
  
Molly had tears in her eyes and she walked over to the blonde and threw her arms around him in a crushing embrace. "Don't be silly! If Harry is going to marry you then you're practically family, and you're not to blame for the sins of your father. It's best we know the truth, however hard it may be."  
  
Arthur Weasley slowly got to his feet and approached his daughter. He looked down at her, tears filling his eyes once more. She looked up at him, her bottom lip trembled, tears threatening to appear on her face once more.  
  
"Daddy, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. One minute I was walking into Flourish and Blotts with Ron and the next I was stunned. When I was revived... I couldn't tell you. How could I tell you?" she sobbed.  
  
He wrapped his arms tightly around his daughter. "Oh, Ginny, this is not your fault. You're such a brave girl. After everything you've been through to keep the baby. Oh, my brave little girl. You've nothing to worry about. I'll bring charges against him at the ministry. We won't let him harm you again. I promise."  
  
Draco approached the father and daughter holding each other and then he put a hand on the girl's shoulder. She turned sharply and looked at him. "I'm sorry for what the bastard did to you. I hope you won't hold it against me. I would really like to be a part of the baby's life. I've never had a real family before and maybe now I can. If you would let me."  
  
Ginny Weasley broke away from her father's embrace and turned to the beautiful girl that was Draco Malfoy. She looked into the silvery gray eyes and was surprised to find warmth in their depths, then like her mother she flung her arms around the pale girl and awkwardly hugged Draco.  
  
"I never thought I would say this to a Malfoy, but..." Ginny paused and managed a faint smile as she sniffled. "Welcome to the family."  
  
Draco hugged her back and then smiled. Suddenly Ginny pushed him back and snatched up his hand, pressing it to her womb. Draco looked at her puzzled and then felt the movements of the baby. That was his little brother or sister. He smiled in wonder and looked at the redheaded girl, admiring her bravery.  
  
"Thank you, G-Ginny," He stumbled awkwardly over her name as it was unfamiliar on his lips.  
  
He then felt an arm across his shoulder and looked sideways to catch a misty eyed Harry smiling at him. Then they all turned to see a very fidgety and uncomfortable Professor Snape standing in the middle of the Weasley's lving room with his arms crossed over his chest. They all burst out laughing at the sight of him, because they all needed to laugh at something after the tension they had all just gone through. Who would have ever thought that Professor Snape and a Malfoy would be welcome in the Weasley household? 


	15. Fifteen: Truth and Prophecy

Fifteen: Truth and Prophecy  
  
Eventually the three Gryffindors and Professor Snape left the Burrow to return to Hogwarts, and with their departure Ginny Weasley went off to bed. Once Ginny was settled away Arthur and Molly Weasley fell back on their worn sofa together. Molly Weasley had tears in her eyes, but her husband was positively distraught. She put her arms around him and he could hold back no more. The man let loose his grief as his wife rocked him back and forth.  
  
"Oh, Molly. Our baby. Our poor baby, and that monster. Wasn't bad enough he almost killed her with that bloody diary! He had to go and ruin her. Why Molly? Why our Ginny?"  
  
She patted his back and shushed him. "Arthur, I wish I knew, but we have got to be strong for her. You know she could have gotten rid of it, but she didn't. She's got her reasons, and truth be told I'm glad she didn't. A thing like that could change a woman. Our little girl is growing up and she's got a lot of choices ahead of her, and none of them are going to be easy. And we can't blame a poor innocent baby for how it came into the world."  
  
"She's going to have the baby of a Death Eater," Arthur almost sobbed.  
  
Molly pulled back and looked at her husband. "Arthur, you look at me right now," she snapped. "If you dare turn your back on our first grandchild you'll find yourself sleeping in the attic with the ghoul. We both suspected how it happened, and now we know. It was not her fault. We both know what he's capable of."  
  
"If I ever set eyes on Lucius Malfoy again, I will kill him, Azkaban be damned!" Arthur Weasley declared.  
  
"You will do nothing of the sort! His time will come!" his wife hissed and then shook him. "Arthur! You promise me that you will do nothing of the sort. I won't lose you over this. We are strong and we both will be there for our daughter and her little one!"  
  
"She is our little girl! How can I do nothing?"  
  
"Because that is how it must be! It is not our place to be judge, jury, and executioner! The best we can do is look after Ginny and the baby," Molly answered.  
  
Arthur Weasley nodded and then he drew his wife closer, clung to her for dear life. She held her husband close and watched as the fire in the hearth slowly died down to glowing embers. Neither of them willing to let the other go.  
  
---------  
  
The three Gryffindors were now headed back to their common room. All three were unusually quiet. The dark haired boy had his arm about the waist of the blonde girl, and the redheaded boy walked by the dark haired boy in companionable silence. Finally the blonde stopped walking, and the two boys stopped and looked at the girl in bewilderment.  
  
"Weasley...Ron, I'm sorry," the girl said softly.  
  
The redheaded boy looked at the girl in confusion. "For what?"  
  
The girl took a deep breath. "For everything I ever said about your family. I was wrong. You've the greatest family in all of the wizarding world. Even after all the things I've said and petty things I've done to you and your sister and after all my father's done, they can still welcome me. I know Ginny told me 'Welcome to the family,' but does that stand from you as well?"  
  
Ron looked at the blonde from head to toe and then a small smile crossed his face. "Yes, but don't expect any hugs. You're still a Malfoy..."  
  
Draco gave Ron a funny look and then said. "I am not going to be a Malfoy for long. In case you can't recall Potter proposed, and soon there will be a little Malfoy calling you Uncle Ronniekins."  
  
"If I know my mum, that kid is going to be brought up a Weasley," Ron said.  
  
"Fair enough," Draco replied.  
  
"Um, it's late, my invisibility cloak is in the dorm room, and Filch's cat might be about. I'm not fond of the prospect of detention with him any time soon," Harry cut in.  
  
"Right," Ron and Draco said in unison, and gave each other funny looks and didn't stop until they'd reached Gryffindor Tower and were in the common room by the fire filling in a very worried Hermione on what had happened at the Burrow.  
  
---------  
  
That morning breakfast was filled with the chattering of the gossips of every table. Draco was the reciever of many curious stares and pointed fingers. Everytime someone was brave enough to actually walk up and ask about the credability of the rumors he would a give a glare that sent the student slouching away. Harry was constantly by his side, not that he minded, he was still in awe that Harry could remain so loyal.  
  
Then after taking some bacon and putting it on his plate he noticed Hermione of all people giving him funny looks. He raised a silvery blonde eyebrow in her direction, to which she blushed and returned to her pancakes.  
  
Ron was being less than conspicuous, as usual. Draco looked from Ron to Hermione, his curiosity getting the better of him, and then he elbowed Harry in the ribs to get his attention. Harry looked up with a start as he had previously been mere seconds away from falling asleep in his porridge.  
  
"Wha?" rolled off of his tongue before his thought processes were working functionally.  
  
"Your friends are giving me funny looks, Potter. I thought they were okay with us last night, now they just keep staring," Draco hissed in his ear.  
  
Harry straightened and then looked toward Ron and Hermione noticing how they were looking at Draco, not unlike the rest of the students and some of the staff in Great Hall.  
  
"What? Is there something wrong?" Draco finally snapped in their direction and said it loud enough for everyone else in the hall to here.  
  
Ron quickly shook his head, face burning bright, and returned to stuffing his face, but Hermione just continued to look at him intently as though she were deciding whether she should tell him something or not.  
  
"Granger, what is on your mind? You're staring as if I've grown a second head! You know we have lived together in the same room for the past months, since when have I become so interesting to look at?" Draco snapped, having run out of patience.  
  
"It's just that... Well, I never would have thought..."  
  
"Spit it out, already! I would like to return to my breakfast with one less set of eyes looking at me."  
  
Harry was watching Hermione intently now, wondering what was going on in that brilliant mind of hers.  
  
"Very well," Hermione said, and then she took a swallow of her orange juice and let out a deep breath. "You, Harry, Ron, and I should see the headmaster immediately. I have been doing research on wishing stones, and I found something that could be of interest to you. You see the stones show reflections to wishers, but in your case your stone carried your guardian as well, and I think I know why. It is very rare for a wishing stone with a guardian to find its charge, as yours did, and considering how rare your particular stone is... Well, I really feel we should see the headmaster."  
  
"What do you know, Hermione?" Harry asked suspiciously.  
  
"Your eyes, Draco, all Malfoy's have those eyes correct?" Hermione asked softly.  
  
Draco's brows drew together in puzzlement before he answered her question, "The ones born with the Malfoy blood do."  
  
"And your name means Dragon of Bad Fate? Oh, dear. According to the legend the stone carried the guardian meant to change the dragon's fate..." Hermione's eyes widened as she stared at the girl that was Draco Malfoy.  
  
"What are you talking about? What legend?" Draco snapped in frustration at having no idea what she was talking about.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't you know anything about your family history, Malfoy?"  
  
"Enlighten me," Draco challenged.  
  
"Your family is descended from one of the greatest and most dangerous sorceresses ever known in Great Britain, and possibly the world," Hermione said rather smugly at the jaw dropping effect that had on Draco.  
  
"B-but," Draco sputtered, "How is that possible? My family didn't move to Britain until the late eighteenth century. Originally the Malfoys are from France."  
  
"No, they fled from Britain, or more accurately Camelot, before they could be persecuted for the death of King Arthur, who was murdered by the bastard son of your ancestress."  
  
"But Arthur was slain by Mordred, his son with his sister Morgana Le Faye..." Draco paused as realization hit him. "Are you saying that my family is descended from..."  
  
"Morgana Le Faye," Hermione finished for him and then she took another deep breath before continuing, "And that stone you wear, that wishing stone is made from moonstone, and the only known wishing stone made of moonstone was charmed by Morgana Le Faye herself. She also wore a wishing stone made of blue lace agate, a milpreve, that was said to the be the seat of her power..."  
  
Draco's breath caught. He lifted his right hand and tapped his right ring finger with his wand and a circlet of silver ornately carved in celtic knots was on his finger, but even stranger was the round blue stone set in the silver of the ring. Hermione's eyes widened.  
  
"Where did you get that?" Hermione asked in awe as she took Draco's right hand and closely examined the stone.  
  
"My father," Draco choked out. "It is passed down through my family from oldest child to their oldest child. How did you find out about Morgana?"  
  
"You knew?" Ron spoke up.  
  
Draco nodded. "Of course. Before Morgana had an affair with Arthur she was in love with a knight. She met him when he was a squire. His name was Thomas, Sir Thomas the fair, and he's certainly my ancestor. It is believed that the Malfoy line gets their fair hair and complexion from Sir Thomas."  
  
"And you get your eyes from Morgana," Hermione concluded.  
  
Draco looked perplexed at this. "But according to the stories her eyes were mismatched, one green and one lavender, because she was a changling."  
  
"According to my research, after the death of her first love she became cold and her eyes changed to a silvery gray, much like yours are now," Hermione said and then continued, "And it makes sense that you got that stone. It was meant for you. I found a prophecy. A forgotten stone would find its way to the Dragon of Bad Fate and the guardian would alter that fate, and the fate of the child born of the sins of the father of the dragon."  
  
"Alright," Draco said calmly. "Say I believe you. Why do we need to see the headmaster?"  
  
Hermione looked at Ron and then glanced at Harry and Draco, before she answered, "Because I think he is the one that gave you that stone."  
  
"What?!" Both Harry and Draco yelled together. Draco tried to stand, but Harry put his hands on the blonde's shoulder to keep the blonde from doing anything rash.  
  
"There is something else," Hermione said quietly.  
  
That caught Draco and Harry's attention. She sighed. "I think I know why you are so powerful. According to legend that stone on your right ring finger was the seat of all of Morgana's power. She changed the fate of all of England and perhaps that changed the fate of your family. Now that your fate has been altered once again as the prophecy said, then perhaps the stone may once again bear her power for her descendants."  
  
"That would explain what you did yesterday," Harry pointed out. "You just held up your hand and none of the teachers could move until you lowered it. That was wandless magic and it was powerful."  
  
"Bloody hell, and that was quite a powerful show. Not even Dumbledore could move!" Ron said.  
  
Draco looked at Harry and then took his hand. "Walk with me. We are going up to that table and I am not going to leave that meddling old codger alone until I know what is going on with this ring and this bloody moonstone!"  
  
Harry sent a perplexed look to Hermione and Ron, and got up with Draco. Both of the students approached the staff table much to the curiosity of their fellow students and those seated at the staff table.  
  
Draco didn't stop until he stood before the headmaster. "It would seem that you have a lot of explaining to do, Headmaster Dumbledore, and I have no intention of leaving you at peace until I have some answers."  
  
Minerva McGonagall and Hagrid made as if to get up, but Draco held up his hand in their direction and neither could move. Dumbledore looked at the young fair haired girl standing before him and sighed. Now was the time for truth.  
  
"Very well, Draco. After breakfast you, your fiance, and myself shall continue this discussion in my office. Until then please allow Professors McGonagall and Hagrid the ability to move. I'm most certain that they would like to finish these delightful blueberry scones they just added to their plates," Dumbledore said and then offered a dish toward Draco and Harry. "Would you care for a scone?"  
  
Ron and Hermione looked up at the scene and Ron leaned toward Hermione. "I'm not sure you should have told him so soon Mione. Malfoy doesn't look too happy."  
  
"I don't think later would have necessarily been better, Ron. Delaying the inevitable is not always wise," Hermione replied.  
  
---------  
  
Draco sat down in a plush red chair, much like the chairs by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Harry sat in a simlar chair next to the nervous blonde and took Draco's slim hand into his own, the left hand, and he lightly fingered his mother's ring, a small smile playing across his lips.  
  
Dumbledore took the comfortable leather seat behind his desk and then held out a dish of candy toward the young couple. "Lemon drop?"  
  
Harry took one and Draco looked at the candy skeptically with a raised eyebrow, to which Dumbledore said, "I assure you young Draco, that it has not been poisoned."  
  
Draco took one and popped it into his mouth and suddenly made a pinched face as the sour taste errupted on his tongue. "Gah! What is that?"  
  
Dumbledore chuckled as Harry turned to explain to Draco the "properties" of a lemon drop. "It's name should tell it all. It's supposed to taste like lemon."  
  
Draco shook his head. "Muggles."  
  
"Yes, very creative aren't they?" Dumbledore spoke up, then Draco looked at the headmaster.  
  
"Well, we are here, in your office as you said this morning, now will you kindly tell us what you know about how I came to be the way I am, because I know that you know more than you have told me," Draco said.  
  
Dumbledore nodded in assent and then cocked his head in Draco's direction in a most peculiar way. "Ah, yes Mr. Malfoy, or would you prefer Miss? But never mind that. First I have a question for you. What do you know of your geneology?"  
  
Draco sighed, and then Harry spoke up, "There was something mentioned this morning about him being the descendant of Morgana Le Faye."  
  
"Most extraordinairy. I really should compliment Miss Granger on her researching abilities, and I assume you have confirmed her findings with that ring you wear on your right hand?"  
  
Draco looked up with a start. "How do you know the origin of that ring?"  
  
"I must admit that I wasn't certain, but your abilities with wandless magic have confirmed my suspicions, and there is something most peculiar about your name. Draco from Draconis which means..."  
  
"Dragon," Draco said cutting him off.  
  
"Precisely," Dumbledore said and then smiled, his twinkle brightening. "There is a prophecy concerning a certain wishing stone and a descendant of it's lady...  
  
Fate at her hand was cast. Descendants of her lover lost, To pay a hefty sum of cost. Still the stones of the lady Are meant to be united. Guardian and magic To come together With the blood of the lady And the name of the dragon. In unity the fates again At her hand shall be cast, Bringing light to darkness Of all that is past."  
  
"So fate will change at my hand? That is why my reflection was a woman? That is why I am now a woman?" Draco said, his tone suggesting anger and shock. "Answer me this, how did someone like you come across this stone? And why did you send it to me?"  
  
"Ah, and that is a good question. The stone came to me from an old friend, a morrigun delivered. That is a rare bird, one that is usually reserved to deliver news of death. I was most shocked to have such a messenger at my window, but alas its tidings were friendly. It left me with the stone you now where beneath your shirt. However that pendant is not the rightful setting for the stone. I have that here, in my desk," Dumbledore said and then began to go through his desk until a few moments later when he lifted out a small pendant on a delicate silver chain. The small pendant was a several interconnected Celtic knots, but it was incomplete. "Might I see the stone please?"  
  
Draco merely nodded, took the moonstone from about his neck and handed it to the old headmaster. Dumbledore said a strange incantion and the talon released the stone into the headmaster's hand. The headmaster then placed the stone into the empty place in the Celtic knot pendant. The silver coils of the knot wove around the stone and then the pendant began to glow a brilliant grayish-blue until the light became silver. When the glow finally faded the stone was encased in the silver Celtic knots and suspended from the delicate silver chain. The headmaster then handed the necklace back to the blonde.  
  
"This rightfully belongs to you my child, and when the time is right you shall pass it on to you first child. Congratulations to you both. Might I inquire if you've set a date?"  
  
Draco stood up and took in a deep breath. "I think I need some fresh air."  
  
"Draco, are you all right? I know this is a lot to take in, but we can get through this," Harry said.  
  
Draco held up his hand and Harry felt frozen in space unable to move. When Draco realized what he'd done he swallowed thickly and lowered his hand. "I'm sorry Harry, but I need some time alone. I just found out that my family history has been tied to my fate, and authority figures that I thought I could trust are the reasons behind what has happened to me. Give me time. If you want your ring back I will understand."  
  
"Draco, what are saying?" Harry asked, fear rising like bile in his throat.  
  
The blonde looked up at the black haired boy with the fiery green eyes and the lightening bolt scar on his forehead. "I feel as though I've been betrayed, not just by a headmaster, but by fate itself. I don't know if I can marry you anymore. So please, let me have time to think. I promise you'll be the first to know my answer."  
  
Harry let out a sigh and then nodded. "All right, I will wait for you. Always. And keep the ring, I couldn't imagine it on anyone else's finger."  
  
Draco closed his eyes and when he opened them again those silvery gray depths were filled with tears. He tentatively walked toward Harry, who was now standing, put his hand on the nape of the dark haired boy's neck and brought him down until their lips met in desperation, and then Draco broke the kiss by turning away.  
  
"Thank you, Harry," the blonde whispered. "I won't let you wait long. I promise."  
  
Draco then walked out of the headmaster's office unsure of where he was going.  
  
Harry let out a shuddering breath and then fell back into one of the red plush chairs, he was shaking. Albus stood up from his desk and approached the young man. Harry looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Why did you do it?" the boy asked.  
  
Albus Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment and then opened then, gazing intently into fiery green eyes. "It was not for me to meddle with fate. The stone was meant for him my boy, and it met with its purpose. Fate is a strange entity entirely, and one dangerous to tamper with. Morgana Le Faye is one of the few to meddle in fate, and look at those results. All will mend itself in time, my boy, in fact time is working for you at this very moment, even as we speak."  
  
Harry looked up at the old man, finally catching those twinkling blue eyes. He saw something there. There was something that Dumbledore wasn't telling him, and Harry knew that the headmaster wouldn't tell him until the time was right. The boy sighed again and felt as though everything in the world was slipping from his fingertips, and then he wondered... When had Draco become his whole world? 


	16. Sixteen: Walk Away

Sixteen: Walk Away  
  
It was the clearing by the lake and the Forbidden Forest, the place from his dreams, the place where Harry had proposed, the place that seemed to hold some magic over the blonde's destiny. The fair skinned silvery blonde girl threw herself down on the ground, bringing her knees up to her chin as she closed her eyes obviously in deep thought. Suddenly the girl looked up and her exotic elemental voice filled the air:  
  
"Why does it always seem to come back to this place? What power draws me here full circle? Why can't I simply walk away?"  
  
The girl sat down, feeling defeated, on the grassy earth and sighed. Then her hand began to cramp and itch, a small smile tugging at her lips. She quickly summoned her sketchbook and pencils, and once she had them she closed her eyes, taking in the smells and sounds of her surroundings, and when she opened her eyes again it was new and beautiful, and like a mystery left yet to explore.  
  
The girl held the sketchbook tilted at an angle in her lap and taking a pencil in her delicate long fingers began to draw the scene surrounding her. First lines, simple, some horizontal, diagnal, vertical, curved, until she had the outline of the world around her. The came the shadows, light near the water, and darker, more foreboding near the woods where the shadows truly lived.  
  
The girl had been out by the lake for hours, the air was growing quite chill, and yet she could not make herself leave that place. She finally set her sketchbook and pencils aside, having finally finished the drawing, and then took up a similar pose to the one she had earlier, drawing her knees to her chin and staring over the lake, watching as the sun began to dip low into the horizon, and darkness blazed from the dying light of the sun.  
  
Her breath caught at the magnificence of the view, and she wondered if she had ever noticed the beauty in a single sunset? Had she ever really seen the world before, and what it could hold? Had she ever loved anything or anyone before? Could she love...  
  
Then warmth was placed on her shoulder, warmth in the form of a hand. The girl inhaled sharply, at first thinking Harry had come looking for her, but the hand was too delicate to be the roughened, yet soft, hands of Harry. She turned her head up slowly and the corner of her mouth pulled up weakly in the effort of a smile. Silvery gray eyes met the dark eyes of Blaise Zabini.  
  
"Blaise? What are you doing here?" the girl asked softly.  
  
The dark haired Slytherin took that as an invitation and sat down next to the girl, and noticing the girl shiver he took off his cloak and put it around the girl's delicate shoulders. The girl raised an eyebrow and looked at him.  
  
"What is this? Why are you here? Why now?" the girl asked again.  
  
The boy looked down at the ground, finding something fascinating in the shadows of the grass; when he finally looked up he swallowed thickly and took the girl's left hand in his. His fingers traced over the beautiful emerald engagement ring, and his chest constricted tightly.  
  
"He really would risk everything for you, wouldn't he?" The girl nodded at the darkhaired boy's observation, and the boy continued, "I wish I had been like that. I wished that I hadn't gotten jealous. Now I carry the scars for both of us. How do I make amends for that? How do I forget you?"  
  
The girl took her hand from the boy's grasp and then put her arm around his shoulder as well as part of the cloak. "You don't have to forget me. I'm still here, I'm just not yours anymore. And you don't have to make amends. The time I have spent with Harry has taught me how to forgive."  
  
"You don't understand, Draco," the boy said, a hitch caught in his voice. "You were never mine to have. You kept yourself so closed off, and seeing you now, knowing that you are who you are, and you are happy with him instead of me is almost enough to kill me."  
  
"Then maybe it is I who should make amends. I'm sorry I wasn't capable of returning your affections. I did care though in some way, and I still do. You were the closest thing I ever had to a friend, and I would like to have that again. Not the relationship we had as lovers, but the one we had as friends. You knew my greatest secrets. Care to know them again?"  
  
Blaise looked up startled, into those gray eyes, the ones he'd seen grow dark in desire and anger, the same eyes that grew soft in the presence of Harry Potter, and he saw warmth, and that was something he'd never before witnessed in those eyes, true warmth and the promise of happiness.  
  
"After I exposed your secret, and after everything that has happened between us, you would still trust me?"  
  
The girl nodded. "There was no one else I would trust more until Harry..."  
  
Blaise noticed the waver in Draco's voice. "What happened? Why are you out here and not with him? What was all of that about with the headmaster this morning?"  
  
"Call it confusion and anger, or what you will. It's just that I've never had any control over my life, and I thought with Harry I finally had that, and then I find out that fate was playing with me again. All because of my ancestors. Because of two stones, and a prophecy..." Draco paused. "You know, my father used a spell when I was conceived so that he could only produce a male heir. What if I had been meant to be a girl?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Blaise asked, somewhat confused.  
  
"My ancestors were Morgana Le Faye and Sir Thomas the Fair. The Malfoy heirs get their complexions and coloring from Sir Thomas and their eyes from Morgana. This little ring on my right hand was the seat of all of her power, and she charmed a wishing stone, the moonstone around my neck to find me. All of this was out of my hands," Draco said with a sigh and then laughed bitterly. "And you know who gave me the stone? Why none other than our respected and esteemed headmaster."  
  
Blaise's eyes widened. "What? He gave you the stone that made you change? And all I got from him for Christmas was a pair of socks."  
  
Draco shook his head and playfully punched Blaise in the shoulder. "I'm talking about conspiracies against my person and you are complaining about Christmas presents? Really, I used to be the only important thing to you!"  
  
"I'm sorry, but it's a lot to take in," Blaise said and then looked around. "Hey, it's getting late, let's go back inside, it will be full dark soon."  
  
Draco shook his head as Blaise stood up and held his hand out for Draco to take. "No, you go on back, I want to stay out here for a while longer. I still have a lot to think about, and I find it peaceful here."  
  
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You do realize how close you are to the Forbidden Forest? What if one of Hagrid's pets find you?"  
  
"Have you forgotten what I can do by just holding my hand up? How do you think I kept the teachers from closing in on my father and me? I didn't even realize what I was doing at the time. It felt so strange, and yet if felt natural. All that power for the taking and I never knew I had it."  
  
"Well, if you are so safe out here than I will go back to the castle where it is warm. Don't stay out here for too long, and you can keep my cloak..." Blaise hesitated and then spoke again. "I will always be here if you ever need me. I would lay my life down for you, and I'm glad that you've found happiness. Even if it is with Potter."  
  
With that the boy turned and began walking to the castle. Draco watched him leave and realized how hurt he must have been over everything.  
  
"I am sorry, Blaise. I never knew you loved me until it was too late, and even if I'd realized sooner, it still would have been too late..." Draco whispered to the wind as it began to pick up in a light breeze.  
  
---------  
  
Blaise tried to focus on anything but the pain, yet it wasn't easy. His insides were being cut apart and his throat, if it tightened anymore, threatened to choke him. Once he was inside the castle he leaned against the wall, the cool stones providing comfort against his scarred back as he shook, trying to fight the overwhelming emotions threatening to consume him.  
  
He hit the wall with the side of his fist and let his head fall back against the stone wall. He felt as though he were shutting down and dying inside.  
  
"How do I let you go, Draco? How do I walk away when you are the only thing in this whole world that I have ever loved?" Blaise whispered softly, his voice strained. "How do I fight the dying inside of me?"  
  
---------  
  
Harry had been pacing in the Gryffindor common room ever since he'd returned from the headmaster's office. He had missed lunch and missed dinner, as well as his classes and quidditch practice. Hermione and Ron returned to the common room after dinner to find that Harry was still pacing and this worried them. Something wasn't right with him, and finally the two of them got up the courage to ask him what was wrong.  
  
"Harry, what happened in Dumbledore's office?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry looked up sharply, finally stopping in his frantic measured steps. He retreated to a chair by the fire and his two friends followed him. "Draco, he said he may not be able to marry me. He's off somewhere thinking and here I am wondering what he will say the next time I see him."  
  
"Well, mate, maybe not marrying a Malfoy won't be so bad," Ron said, and was smacked hard in the shoulder by a very annoyed Hermione.  
  
"You use of tact is quite astonishing Ron!" she snapped.  
  
He simply rubbed his shoulder and shrugged.  
  
Harry tried to smile, but failed miserably. "I wasn't whole until I was with him. I actually used to enjoy fighting with him, you know, before. It was always a challenge, a kind of game, a competition. I didn't realize what it was until near the end of sixth year, and then when he fell during that Quidditch match. I felt as though I'd fallen with him. Now that I've gotten to know him, I can't see myself without him. It's like he is a piece of me, and I don't want to let go. I never want to let go. But what if that choice has already been made and I have to let go. I don't know if I have the strength if it comes to that."  
  
"If he feels the same way then he has to come around. I mean the git can't be that thick," Ron said and put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "You'll see Harry, these things work out, and you do what you have to do."  
  
Harry got up and Hermione looked at him skeptically, knowing something was going on in that mind of his. She sighed as he headed toward the seventh year boy's dormitory. Judging by the way determination shown in his every step she knew that he wasn't going to bed.  
  
Harry opened the door of the room he shared with his fellow seventh year comrades and went to his trunk, where he pulled out his invisibility cloak. He drew it around him, smiled, finally feeling that there was something he could do. Then he pulled out the Marauder's Map and noticed where Draco was, by the lake and near the Forbidden Forest, the same place where Harry had proposed only days ago, had it been days? It felt like lifetimes.  
  
Deciding that it might be cold Harry took the comforter off of his four- poster and shrunk it down to a managable size with his wand, then he left his dormitory and Gryffindor Tower. He didn't stop until he reached the portrait of food, tickled the pear and left the kitchens with a basket packed full of food. If he was hungry, then he could safely assume that Draco was as well.  
  
He then walked out onto the castle grounds heading toward the lake where he knew he would find Draco.  
  
---------  
  
Draco was laying on the ground, back against the cool earth, eyes taking in the glittering stars held captive within the night's rich black velvet. A breeze passed over him and he pulled Blaise's cloak closer around him, and then inhaled. The cloak was tainted with the heady scent of cinnamin, vanilla, and pine, yes, the cloak certainly belonged to Blaise.  
  
Draco's lips curved in a soft smile, as he sighed and then whispered to the wind, "Yes, Blaise, we had some good times. Pity you went to my father, but we are all pawns to that queen bitch I call fate."  
  
Draco was laughing to himself when he heard the muffled sounds of footsteps on the grass, someone was coming near, and they obviously wanted it known that they were advancing.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" A soft deep voice filled the air.  
  
"Harry," Draco sighed, sat up, and then patted a spot on the ground beside him.  
  
Harry smiled and took the spot Draco indicated and then Draco noticed the cloak draped over Harry's arm and the basket that he carried. The blonde raised an eyebrow. Harry only blushed faintly.  
  
"I know it's a bit late for a picnic, but I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. Have you?"  
  
Draco shook his head and then looked eagerly at the basket. "Honestly, Potter, you have your uses. So are you going to share or am I to be tortured while you eat in front of me? I will have you know that I am perfectly capable of incapacitating you and taking that wonderful basket of what promises to be delicious. Oh that smells so good. How did you get them to fix... Are those lamb chops?"  
  
"I seem to be rather popular with the house elves," Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "You're 'rather popular' with everyone it seems."  
  
Harry then pulled out the comforter and changed it back to its regular size. He draped part of it across Draco's back and the other part across his own, and then the two of them dug into the food the house elves had prepared.  
  
After both were fairly sated they put the basket aside and laid back, Harry drawing Draco close against his body and then wrapping them up in the comforter. Draco gave in as Harry drew tiny circles onto his shoulder.  
  
Draco moaned. "How do you know where to touch me? That feels so good."  
  
"I'm only drawing circles. If I'm that good..." Harry trailed off as a wicked grin spread across his face. "Care for a back rub?"  
  
The blonde snorted. "As nice as the offer is, I must decline. Now why are you out here?"  
  
"I could ask the same of you," Harry shot back.  
  
"I'm not in the mood now. Just give me a straight answer," Draco said, his voice tight and tired.  
  
Harry drew Draco as close to him as was possible. "You were all alone out here. I didn't know how you were taking it all, or even if you'd eaten. So I brought the food and the company."  
  
Draco began to pull back from the warm embrace, the comfort of Harry's arms. "I thought you were going to give me time. What do you call this? How can I adjust or even think when you are always around?"  
  
"I didn't mean..." Harry paused and then anger and confusion shadowed his face. "What do you want, Draco? You always used to know when we hated each other. You knew you wanted to hurt me or get me into trouble. So what do you want from me now? Do you want to hurt me? You're doing just fine! Do you want to run from us? Because if you do it will destroy me. I don't know if I could let you go."  
  
"And I used to be the one accused of being a selfish sod," Draco said with a dry laugh. "This isn't about you, or what I want. This is about who I am. I have no bloody clue. Can't you understand that? Or have you always known you're the great sodding Harry Potter? Excuse me if my identity issues are causing you confusion, because I find it rather puzzling myself!"  
  
Harry looked down at the ground and began to pick at a stray strand of grass. Slowly he looked up, shadows of thought slithering behind his fiery green eyes. "We can find out who you are together. I want us to work through things. I've been alone all my life. Sure I've had friends, and Ron and Hermione are the best friends I could ever hope for, and I love them, but I've never had anyone or anything to truly call my own, unless you count Hedwig, but she hoots all night."  
  
"Dammit! Stop joking. And let me go. Let me walk away from fate and for once have a say in my life," Draco snapped. "Don't you get it? I've never lived for myself, I've only lived for others. First it was my father, and now it's you. I love you Harry, but I have to find myself. Please let me find the pieces of myself, the pieces I have left. I-I still want to marry you, if you will have me, but give me time."  
  
"Time is more of a tyrant than any dark lord, but if that is what you need..." Harry never finished as Draco's lips descended upon his, tongue demanding entrance, and gently assaulting his mouth. The kiss was full of passion, regret, hope, but most of all love.  
  
The blonde broke away from the kiss and Harry watched as Draco Malfoy trapped in a woman's body walked away.  
  
The dark haired boy shook his head. "Have you any idea that you are my whole world you silly git?" 


	17. Seventeen: Everybody's Fool

Seventeen: Everybody's Fool  
  
Draco entered the school, fighting to keep his composure as everything seemed to hit him and fall into place. Yes, something hit him all right. Something caught him in the back of the head, and he immediately fell into darkness...  
  
Slowly feeling returned as he regained consciousness, and then he groaned and began to open his eyes, only to close them against the harsh light in the room. Fear laced up his spine and his headache was forgotten, as he opened his eyes once again, this time keeping them open and getting them accustomed to the light.  
  
He looked around the room, recognizing every inch of it. He was in Malfoy Manor, or more precisely he was in his father's study. He tried to move, but found that his wrists and ankles were bound magically to the chair he sat on. The harder he struggled the tighter the bonds held. Draco sighed and melted into the chair, awaiting whatever else fate had in store for him.  
  
---------  
  
Harry grew tired of the view quickly. He gathered up the basket that had held their food, he folded up the comforter, and then he noticed Draco's sketchbook laying on the ground by the tree Draco had been leaning against. Harry knelt down, picked it up and began flipping through it. He stopped at the most recent drawing, a landscape of the lake and the edges of the Forbidden Forest.  
  
He then turned to the next page of the sketchbook and instead of a drawing found a poem written in the small neat writing that was Draco's hand:  
  
I thought it would be easy; It's different when you try. Oh, how hard it can be Just to say goodbye. Choices that I have made, Leave in me nothing to be saved.  
  
There is something pulling at me. I can't be certain, My conscience, maybe? Who dares to call me back? Who could hold dear my sorrowful remains? I can't go back, I wouldn't be the same.  
  
What ladens me with shame, And makes me regret that I am changed? I can't be taken back, Can you not see? Stop being selfish, Please set me free.  
  
Looking back, I feel the first tears in my eye, Even the happy moments make me cry. It's very different to try, It can't be easy To just say goodbye, Not even when you die.  
  
So for my last breath, I'm left only a whisper to yell, Cruel world, I owe to you only farewell. Closing my eyes one final time, I know I tried, But still, I couldn't say goodbye.  
  
Harry swallowed thickly as he read through the poem several times over. Fear raced up Harry's spine, and he knew that something was wrong, something had happened. He quickly closed the sketchbook and ran towards the castle, leaving the comforter and food basket in his wake. He headed straight for Gryffindor Tower. He quickly gave the fat lady the password and ran in, the book clutched against his chest and shouted out Draco's name.  
  
The Gryffindors in the common room looked at him in stunned silence, wondering what was going on. Harry Potter looked like a madman holding a sacred book against his chest. Ron and Hermione rose from their chairs by the fire and rushed over to Harry to find out what was wrong.  
  
"Harry? Where is Draco?" Hermione asked gently.  
  
Harry turned wild green eyes in her direction. "Draco's not here? But he left me out there almost ten or fifteen minutes ago. He should be here. He left his sketchbook out there and I found it. Oh, gods! Hermione, check your room or the bathrooms, just hurry."  
  
"Whoa, mate, slow down, what's got your knickers in a twist? Draco hasn't been in the tower since this morning. No one's seen him come in. We thought he was with you..." Ron said and was cut off by Harry.  
  
"I think something might have happened to him, or maybe he did something to himself. Someone go check the hospital wing, say it's an emergency and they can't take house points," Harry continued in a rant. "Well go! Isn't anyone going to help me?!"  
  
Hermione looked at Harry and then asked, "What has you thinking like this?"  
  
Without another word Harry turned to the poem in Draco's sketchbook and handed it to Hermione. She read over the poem, her eyes growing wide and her hand flying up to cover her mouth as it fell open. "Oh Circe!" she said and then took charge. "Well you heard him people! Move! Creevy brothers check all the boys' dorms, Neville, hospital wing, Dean, Seamus to the library, Ron check the prefect's bathrooms, Parvati, Lavender, you check all of the girl's bathrooms. Harry you come with me."  
  
With that the whole of Gryffindor broke up into several search parties and began to scour the school not caring about curfew. Harry and Hermione went upstairs to her room, but needless to say Draco wasn't there, and then they headed straight to the headmaster's office. Harry knew that something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones, and then his scar began to burn.  
  
---------  
  
The door of his father's study was shoved open and a very pregnant girl with bright red hair was thrown into the room. Draco looked up and saw Ginny and he closed his eyes feeling sympathy for the poor girl. She'd never asked for any of this, and yet fate had dealt her a cruel blow. The door was shut as soon as she was inside.  
  
Her whole body was shaky, her face and clothes were dirty, and tears streaked her face. Draco felt something constricting his chest and realized that it was the urge to cry. He swallowed thickly and looked at the trembling girl.  
  
"Ginny," he whispered in that soft elemental voice that had been his since that fateful December day. She looked up and then he continued, "Are you all right? What happened? Who took you?"  
  
She whimpered and then slowly crawled toward the chair that Draco was bound to. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear and worry. "I don't know, but they took my mum and dad, and they separated me from them. I was taken here. They were wearing black robes and white masks, so that would make them Death Eaters, but I couldn't tell who exactly they were. I wish I had my wand."  
  
Draco sighed and then sat up bolt straight. Ginny had mentioned a wand, but Draco didn't need a wand. He could feel the moonstone beneath the sweater he wore, and it began to grow warmer against his skin, as did the ring on his right ring finger, the ring with the stone that had been the seat of Morgana Le Faye's power.  
  
Draco focused on the ring and he felt electricity begin to spark in his blood until fire raged in his veins. The ring on his right finger began to glow and Ginny Weasley quickly back away until she was pressed against the wall, as Draco finally stood up from the chair, rubbing his wrists and taking a few steps.  
  
"That's much better, now Ginny, what do you say to getting out of this place? I'm sure we could find a way to get safely back to Hogwarts and then we will alert Dumbledore that Death Eaters have your parents. For now, however, you are my priority. So are you ready to go?"  
  
"How did you do that?" she asked in awe.  
  
A small smile tugged at his lips. "The power has been awakened in my blood, now we need to get out of here, before my father arrives."  
  
Ginny nodded, and then Draco reached out and took the slight feminine hand of Draco Malfoy. She felt an immense power radiating throughout the pale girl with the silvery blonde hair. Ginny took a deep sharp breath and Draco held up his hand toward the door of the study and it flew back off of its hinges. Then together the two went out into the corridor and Draco began to lead the way out of the house he'd once known as home. He had one destination in mind, knowing that once he was in his bedroom he could Apparate with Ginny to the gates of Hogwarts and they would be safe.  
  
---------  
  
Harry and Hermione made it to the gargoyle just as it stepped aside and the headmaster stepped out of the spiral stairwell leading to his office, and he appeared very grave indeed. He looked at Harry and Hermione and then asked about the whereabouts of Mr. Weasley.  
  
Hermione and Harry exchanged a look as Hermione said, "Headmaster, why would you want to talk to Ron? Draco is the one missing."  
  
"Draco?" the headmaster said and his eyes widened. "It is as I feared. It appears that our young Draco and the Weasleys have been taken, and if I am correct in my assumptions I suspect Death Eaters were the perpetrators, and this kidnapping was orchestrated by Voldemort."  
  
Suddenly Harry moaned, his eyes shutting with a snap as images of an elaborately decorated study and a pale young silvery blonde haired woman bound to a chair filled his mind, then flashes of red hair and cold stone rooms with chains hanging from the walls flashed before his closed eyes. His scar burned fiercely as he collapsed to his knees, breathing hard, and suddenly looking around wildly.  
  
"Voldemort wants to use Draco's power. He knows about the prophecy, and he has Ginny. I think I might have seen something like a dungeon with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but I'm not sure. Oh gods! I think he wants to kill Ginny..." Harry trailed as he couldn't bring himself to speak anymore, and then darkness flooded his blurred vision and he collapsed into unconsciousness.  
  
---------  
  
Draco rounded the last corner of the corridor, his hand firmly grasping Ginny's. She was out of breath and needed a rest, but they couldn't afford the time to stop, so they pressed onward, and finally they reached their destination, Draco's bedroom. The one place that only Draco could Apparate from. Draco threw open the door and hastily pushed Ginny in before him.  
  
There were shouts coming from the corridors, and Draco knew that time was running out. He quickly closed, locked, and warded the door, and then he noticed Ginny crawl over to his bed, struggling desperately to catch her breath. She looked at the lovely young woman that was Draco Malfoy, her eyes wide as she looked around the room, noticing that there was no way out except for the way they'd come.  
  
"We're trapped," she managed to wheeze.  
  
He hurried over and took the redhead's hands into his and looked her straight in the eye, noticing the flecks of gold in the chocolate brown for the first time. She really was a pretty girl. He brushed away that thought quickly as a loud banging from the other side of the door brought him back to the present.  
  
"Ginny," Draco said and she let out a deep breath as he continued, "I know how this looks, but I can get us out of here. We have to go now, but I need to know if you trust me, because this can only work if you trust me."  
  
"What do I have to do?" she asked calmly.  
  
He smiled, "Good girl, now we are going to have to Apparate to Hogwarts. You see I'm the only one who can Apparate from this room. My father would have to go to his room to Apparate, and all of the other Death Eaters would have to go out onto the grounds to Apparate, so that will give us time to get safely into Hogwarts. Of course if I am to Apparate with you in your current condition I need your complete trust in me. It's the only chance I know of, unless we wait for Harry to come barging in with a raging battle cry and a nice fireworks show."  
  
Ginny smiled at the mention of Harry and then she jumped as another loud bang sounded from the door. She bit her bottom lip and then made her decision. "As good as the fireworks sound, we can't afford to wait that long. I trust you Draco, now hurry, get us out of here."  
  
With that the pale blonde girl wrapped her arms around the younger redhead whose slight form was bulging from the child in her womb and a moment and a loud crack later they were huddled before the gate of Hogwarts.  
  
Ginny opened her eyes; she hadn't even realized that she'd closed them. She looked up at Draco wide eyed and saw that the blonde was opening her eyes as well. Draco then helped her to stand and hustled her through the gates, and once they were inside he lifted his hand and the gate clanged shut and glowed fierce silver, with a ward of protection. Then the two hurried to the castle as quickly as they could, Ginny clinging to Draco for support, because she didn't know how much longer her legs could support her.  
  
They were almost there, ten feet from the castle steps when Ginny collapsed completely. Draco knew that he couldn't leave her there. He looked at the girl and feared using a levitation charm on her because of her condition. Then he turned to the castle and saw his solution. There stood Blaise.  
  
"Blaise!" Draco shouted, and the Slytherin turned and upon seeing Draco kneeling over a pregnant girl he ran out.  
  
"Draco?! You're back. I heard that you'd been kidnapped!" Blaise said and then his eyes widened as he looked at the unconscious girl on the ground. "Oh dear Merlin! Is that Ginny Weasley?"  
  
Draco nodded, "Yes, now could you help me get her inside? I don't know how long we have before the Death Eaters show up, and once they do I have no idea how long the ward I put over the gate will hold. The gate is the only penetrable thing about the entire school."  
  
"How do you know that?" Blaise asked as he hefted up a very pregnant Ginny Weasley into his arms.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes, and sounding a bit like Hermione, said, "Doesn't anyone ever read Hogwarts: A History?"  
  
Blaise groaned under the weight of Ginny Weasley and soon Draco and Blaise were moving as quickly as possible toward the doors of the castle. Once they were inside they ran into a surprised Snape, who relieved Blaise of his burden and carried Ginny Weasley to the hospital wing with Draco and Blaise following close behind.  
  
They ran into several Gryffindors along the way, all of whom were surprised to see Draco back, and even more stunned by the fact that Snape was carrying a very unconscious and pregnant Ginny Weasley to the hospital wing. Finally they reached the hospital wing, where Snape laid Ginny down on the nearest bed, and Madam Pomfrey bustled over to have a look at her, as did Ron Weasley who'd been standing vigil at another bed, and it was the other bed surrounded by Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Seamus Finnigan, and Neville Longbottom, that caught Draco's attention. He hurried over and saw the form of his fiancé out cold on the mattress, his complexion the same color as the white sheets of the bed.  
  
Those surrounding the bed looked up startled as Draco joined them, but Draco didn't notice them. All he saw was Harry lying deathly pale on that hospital bed, and he felt something ripping apart inside of him.  
  
He looked across the bed at Albus Dumbledore and then asked, "How long has he been like this?"  
  
Dumbledore looked up gravely at the young fair skinned silvery haired woman. "For the past several hours I'm afraid. He had a vision of you, Miss Weasley, and Arthur and Molly Weasley, and shortly afterward he fainted. He is very weak and has lost a great deal of energy, energy that is used to sustain life. It does not look good for our young Mr. Potter."  
  
Draco sucked in a deep breath of air, and suddenly it was clear in his mind, and he knew what to do. He reached at the back of his neck, undoing the clasp of the delicate chain around his throat and then he took the stone from beneath his shirt. He then took Harry's left hand in his right hand, and placed the wishing stone between their joined palms. Draco looked up at the people crowded around Harry's bed.  
  
"I'm everybody's fool, fate's, my father's, the Slytherin's. I've always played into their hand. This is my moment, where I choose, where I bend fate to my will. Harry will die unless I can do something about it. It's his scar. My father mentioned something about it over the summer, I didn't know what he meant, but it's how Voldemort is gaining power, he's taking it from Harry. Tonight Harry opened the door for him to take it all. I was used against Harry, but I know what I have to do," Draco said and then he locked eyes with Dumbledore. "Tell them to stay back, whatever happens, and if anything should happen to me, tell him I loved him."  
  
A sob hitched in Hermione's throat, and Ron hurried over as he'd heard Draco's words. Minerva McGonagall looked at the young woman and noticed how the pale silvery haired girl seemed almost to be made of light. Her hand rose to her mouth in horror as she realized what the young woman meant to do.  
  
"Please, Headmaster, get them back now, or I will do it," Draco said.  
  
Dumbledore ushered them back, having a hard time with Hermione and Ron, finally it was Seamus and Neville that managed to pull back Ron, while McGonagall held on to Hermione. They all watched as pale blue light began to emit from the interlocked hands of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.  
  
Strange ancient words began to fall from the lips of the pale young woman as the light grew brighter until it was blinding to look upon and surrounded the young couple, then the two began to rise in the air, both convulsing as the power surged through them both, then the light became green, and finally disappeared and Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter fell back to earth, Harry landing unceremoniously on the bed and Draco falling, barely prevented from hitting the floor as Snape rushed forward and caught the girl in his arms. She felt light, almost weightless, and she was boneless in his arms.  
  
Suddenly the girl arched forward, her eyes snapping opened, and she looked around, her eyes mismatched, the right lavender and the left a bright green, and from her lips spilt a voice that seemed to be composed of the purest light and magic, "My will is done, and now my blood is left to their own fate. You my good servant," the voice from the girl's mouth said as the girl's pale hand lifted and pointed to Dumbledore, "Shall receive many thanks and rewards, sent from Avalon. I thank you for aiding me in gaining my freedom. And many blessings to all those witness."  
  
Then the pale girl turned to look at the man holding her. She smiled at him, her mismatched eyes locking with Severus Snape's black ones. "You have redeemed yourself to light. Think nothing of your past my child. You are free and pure once again." And with that the girl leaned up, one hand snaking to the back of Snape's neck, drawing him down until their lips met in a chaste kiss.  
  
Snape nearly dropped the girl as something surged through him, a power, a burning power rushed from where his lips touched the pure girl until it flowed through his body, and the burning became most searing on his left arm, the arm bearing the mark. He set the girl down on her feet and when the girl pulled back, he felt years younger, and all of his past burdens were lifted away.  
  
The girl then looked up at him. "I have but one request of you Severus," she stopped and looked at the black haired man, smiling at the change that had overcome him, his black hair was no longer greasy, but silky and healthy, his skin was no longer sallow, but fair, and the age had dropped away from him, and he looked to be about in his early to mid twenties. He looked at her in awe and she smiled at him, her fingers lightly tracing down his cheeks. "Use wisely the time I have given you and take care of my dragon and his brother, see to it that my dragon marries the other half of his soul, for he nearly sacrificed himself to breathe life into his love."  
  
Then the girl turned to face the rest of the people in the room, all of them staring at the girl they'd known as Draco Malfoy, and yet they knew that they were seeing someone else. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Ron, Hermione, Seamus, Neville, and Blaise all watched in awe, a few with their mouths hanging open.  
  
"All of you bear witness to the sacrifice that was made tonight, and you bear witness to a great change in the fate of my blood. Take care to remember this moment always, and let it be known that I and mine are no longer cursed to bad fate, but have become as everyone else. We have been given the power to choose. So now as with my first change their eyes may reflect the new power the lies within the blood of mine," she said, and then slowly walked toward where the unconscious Ginny lay. She placed her hand gently on Ginny's rounded stomach where her baby rested. She smiled and then kissed the girl's cheek lightly. "Little mother, you have been greatly harmed, but this child is special, as you will know upon looking into his eyes. See that he is given a wonderful life, child."  
  
She then turned to the others in the room. "When my dragon awakes, tell him that he has been given a new name, my true name, he is no longer the Dragon of Bad Fate, but simply the Dragon of Fate. He that is in a woman's body will now be Draco Le Faye. That is my final wish."  
  
And with that the pale figures eyes closed and she slumped to the floor. The glowing light surrounding the pale form faded and there in its wake lay Draco, unconscious and on the floor. Madam Pomfrey rushed to the girl's side and then Severus hurried over and gathered the girl in his arms and put her on the bed beside Harry's. Hermione and Ron drew closer to the bed and Hermione gasped as she noticed something about Harry, the lightning shaped scar was gone.  
  
She then looked at Snape and said, "Professor Snape, sir, Harry's scar is gone, quick lift up your left sleeve."  
  
Snape looked at the girl as though she were mad until he noticed that Potter's scar was indeed gone, then he lifted up his sleeve and saw that the dark mark was gone. He looked up and his eyes met with the twinkly blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore, and then Severus Snape sat down in a chair by Draco's bed and wept in happiness. Those gathered in the room, already stunned from everything that had happened, simply gaped at the weeping Potions Master. 


	18. Eighteen: Sleep Perchance to Dream

Eighteen: Sleep Perchance to Dream  
  
The air was chilled around the young pair who were lying on the ground. Their muscles groaned in protest as they began to move, slowly the girl, a fair skinned silvery blonde wonder, leaned up and took in her surroundings. There was a boy next to her, with honey colored skin, a mess of black hair, and bright green eyes behind thick framed glasses, and beyond the boy was a lake, and to her right was the beginnings of the Forbidden Forest. She moaned and rolled her shoulders a bit to ease the tension in her muscles, and then she felt another presence. She quickly sat up and took the dark haired boy in her arms.  
  
He was slowly waking up, but he was disoriented. He looked up at the fairskinned girl and lifted his hand to gently stroke her cheek and then his eyes widened and he drew in a sharp breath. He quickly sat up and looked into the girl's eyes.  
  
"Draco!" he said, "Your eyes... Are you even Draco? You can't be? I've heard stories of people with eyes like yours. You're a changling."  
  
The girl looked at the boy in her arms as though he were mad, and than shook her head. "Potter, too many encounters with the Dark Lord have finally made you daft. Of course it's me. I'm Draco and what are you talking about? What is wrong with my eyes?"  
  
That was when a voice laced with light and power filled the air, and the yougn couple looked up with a start. The woman was pale, and ethreal, and appeared to be made from light, except for her wavy wild hair, which was so black that it seemed to blend in with the night. She smiled at them and then Harry noticed her eyes, they were mismatched like Draco's, the right eye lavender and the left one a bright green.  
  
Draco's eyes widened as he looked at the woman, and suddenly he knew who she was. "Morgana La Faye?" he whispered it like a question.  
  
She smiled down at him. "My dragon, you have found the other half of your soul and yet you would refuse him until his life mattered. You would let him go free despite what it would do to you. Your selflessness has set me free, my child. It is honor you do me and your blood. Let no one tell you other wise."  
  
"What are you saying?" Harry asked, and Draco clamped a hand over his mouth, fearing that his ancestress might be insulted, but her light airy laughter tinkled like bells all around them.  
  
"Let him speak if he wishes. I am certain that nothing he could say would offend me. For he has done great service too, because he is so pure. How strange that light would be disguised in one so dark, hair of night, skin of honey, when you my dragon look as though you were woven of light, but within you lies the shadows. Together you are one, and you proved this my dear dragon by letting him go, and he proved it by wanting to stay. I wished my Thomas could have been as willing to stay as your Harry, or that I could sacrifice such an important piece of myself like you did."  
  
"You mean the story of how you trapped Thomas and how he later... It's true?" Draco asked, hesitant on saying anything that was related to death.  
  
She looked down, and then back up again with a raised eyebrow, her expression so similar to the one Draco usually wore. "Yes, when Thomas finally told me to kill him or set him free, I did and at the gates of my home where I'd kept him for so long, he was slain. It was shortly afterward that I found I was with child, a son, your first Malfoy. I sent him to France to one my mother's relatives. His fate was better than that of my son Mordred. Still evil has tainted the blood of my family for so long. And your father almost ruined the prophecy, with his silly spell to have a male heir. What a fool. You are now as you were meant to be. Beautiful child, to have known you would have been a privilage, as it is, I do have a gift for you."  
  
Draco's ears perked up at this, "For me?"  
  
She nodded, "For the both of you. And it is a precious gift, but it is not from me, not truly. I only bear news of this gift."  
  
Harry looked up at the strange woman and sat up from Draco's lap. "What is it?"  
  
She smiled at the pair. "Upon your waking, your Madam Pomfrey will have the most surprising news for you. I would recommend a June handfasting. Now back to the world where you belong, and sleep perchance to dream and here you may meet me once again, as I am meant to be seen. Only you have seen me in true form. Oh and Harry, when you awake and see Draco's eyes, know that he is not a changling, only that his fate has been altered, and my dear child, I know you do your new name justice."  
  
With that the strange woman, who was Morgana Le Faye turned and began to walk away. The two looked after her and Draco called out to her, "Where is this world where we belong?"  
  
She turned for a moment, "You will know when you open your eyes, for things have changed in that world's fate as well. Now return, and open your eyes..."  
  
---------  
  
"Open your eyes."  
  
And Harry Potter did as he was directed and screamed in horror at the face that was looming merely inches away from his. Staring down at him was none other than Severus Snape, only, he looked different, younger, and his hair actually look well cared for. Harry's eyes widened.  
  
"Good, you're finally awake," Snape said.  
  
Harry slowly sat up and looked around the room. He was in the hospital wing and screens were pulled up around him, and among his visitors were Snape, Ron, Blaise Zabini, and Hermione. He sighed and then fell back in the bed, and that was when it hit him. The one person he wanted to see most was not among the people around his bed.  
  
He sat up with a start and looked around wildly. "Where is Draco?" he said in a raspy voice, and realized he must have been out for a long time.  
  
Surprisingly it was Blaise who poured him a cup of water and helped him to drink it, and it was Blaise that answered his question, "Draco is asleep, much the way you were. Something happened after your vision, I only know what I heard and what I saw when Draco touched you."  
  
Harry groaned, "I remember Draco and Morgana, and being down by the lake, but before that Draco was missing."  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow as he looked at Harry and then Hermione spoke up, "Harry you've been unconscious for a week. And so has Draco. In fact Draco nearly died to save your life."  
  
"And he saved Ginny and my mum and dad," Ron added sheepishly and then looked at Harry.  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "Ginny and your mum and dad? What's been happening? Where is Madam Pomfrey, I... There's something I need to ask her."  
  
Snape called for Madam Pomfrey, who nearly fainted upon seeing Harry awake, she then shooed out the visitors and did a quick, but thorough, examination of her patient. Once she was satisfied that he was out of harms way and safely on the mend Harry asked her about Draco, and the woman stiffened.  
  
"Madam Pomfrey, I need to know about Draco's condition. It's very important, please," Harry said.  
  
Tears sprung to the mediwitch's eyes. "Oh you poor boy, after that spell he did to revive you, something took possession of his body. I can only assume it was Morgana Le Faye, that is what Albus said at any rate. As for the effects it had on Draco's body, well a significant amount of energy was used to revive you and the strain on his body was too much, expecially with his current conditon. The poor dear, he... or rather she as it is at the moment will have a rough way of it when she wakes up."  
  
"A rough way of what?" Harry asked.  
  
Madam Pomfrey looked at the boy incredulously. "Potter! You just asked about Draco's condition... Do you mean to tell me that you don't know?"  
  
"Don't know what?"  
  
The mediwitch looked ashen, "Honestly, boy... You don't know when you're about to be a father?"  
  
What little color that was on his cheeks faded quickly and he swayed. When he regained composure he tried to stand, but his legs gave way beneath him. Madam Pomfrey scolded him and helped him back on the bed, but Harry struggled against her.  
  
"Mr. Potter! I do know the leg-locker curse, do not make me use it," she finally huffed.  
  
Harry sighed and let her put him back on the bed, but then he said, "Please, Madam Pomfrey, I have to see Draco, please. The only reason he's hurt is because of me, please."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Oh very well, I will move your bed next to Draco's, will that satisfy you? But do not do as Severus did. Do not try to wake him...her, yet. Remember her condition is delicate and she's had to regain a lot of energy."  
  
Harry nodded and soon his bed was hovering and he could see the bed occupied by a pale form with long silvery blonde hair. His heart skipped a beat as his bed was set down next to it, the other beds in the way moving aside automatically. With another quick spell, the two mattresses were joined together.  
  
Harry smiled and then noticed the disapproving look on Madam Pomfrey's face. "Normally I would not allow such things in my hospital wing, but under the cirmcumstances I will allow it. Draco will need the support once she awakes and your two are properly engaged and since she is in the family way already..."  
  
Harry's face flushed, but that didn't stop him from curling around the slight frame of the girl. Madam Pomfrey sighed and shook her head until she finally pulled up screens around the couple and went to check on other patients. Harry took the opportunity of being alone with Draco to look at the frail girl. He scooted back and looked at the girl that was Draco Malfoy. He swallowed thickly noticing how much paler than usual the girl was, and he winced at how thin she was. If Draco really was with child then he would need to eat as soon as possible in Harry's oppinion.  
  
Then it hit Harry. In the dream Morgana had mentioned being a messenger, and Madame Pomfrey had said that he would be a father. He smiled and then wrapped his arms around the slight frame of the girl, his hands cupping the girl's flat stomach protectively. He wondered when her stomach would begin to swell with the life they'd created together and he marvelled at the miracle that his life had become, but still he worried, because Draco had yet to wake up...  
  
---------  
  
Draco closed his eyes and when he opened them he saw Harry walking away into a strange white light. Draco had wanted to follow, but something was holding him back. Once Harry was out of sight, the light faded and Draco was able to move again. Draco pounded his fist on the ground and looked around, he was still in the damned spot by the lake and the Forbidden Forest. Why had it always come back to this place?  
  
He hit the ground again, and then felt something shift. His back stiffened as he looked around and then gasped as a boat glowing gold pulled up to the shore of the lake and there was but a single person in the boat, a beautiful woman with crystal clear blue eyes and golden hair. She was dressed in a medieval gown of soft sea greens and blues, embroidered with golden thread. She glowed gold like the boat and Draco felt drawn to the boat. She held out her hand to him and he took it.  
  
Once he took her hand he found himself in the boat, and then the boat began to propel itself and the lake was no longer a lake, but a stream. The woman smiled at him and then lifted her hand to stroke his cheek.  
  
"So you are the child of Morgana's blood. Born a boy to a fool, and given your true form once again. And oh, how you glow..." the woman said in a whispy voice and then her hand lowered to Draco's stomach, and stopped to rest against Draco's abdomen. Draco looked from the woman's hand to the woman's pale eyes, with his silvery blond eyebrow raised questioningly.  
  
The woman laughed, "You look so like Morgana when you do that. Yet you've the coloring of that boy she fancied. He was a nice boy, tis a shame I saw him down this same path, but he wasn't like you, he was meant to stay, you are only visiting."  
  
"Visiting where, and why was your hand over my stomach?"  
  
The woman smiled secretly. "Silly things you mortals be. Still that makes you all the more endearing. Do you not realize you glow with the energy of the child within your womb? And you are now brought to Avalon. And I, I am the Lady of Shalot, I saw to Thomas the Fair's journey, his return to Avalon, and I saw to King Arthur's journey as well. Now do you know of me?"  
  
Draco's eyes widened, as he reeled from the shock. Now Morgana's message of a gift made sense. He was going to have a baby. And this woman was taking him to...Avalon?  
  
"Why are we going to Avalon?" Draco asked.  
  
The woman smiled again in her secretive manner. "You will see young one. There are gifts to bestow upon you and yours. And there is something to celebrate."  
  
"What is there to celebrate? Mortals are only taken to Avalon to stay, forever... How will I ever get back to Harry?"  
  
"You go only to receive your gifts, and then you will be free, the faery folk have given their word, and they thank you, for now they have their mistress among them once again," she said.  
  
"Morgana is their mistress?" Draco asked incredulously.  
  
The Lady of Shalot gave a little laugh. "Yes, and she has been lost to us for many years. We, all of the people of Avalon owe you many thanks."  
  
Draco swallowed thickly, but before he could ask anymore questions the boat had stopped and the lady was beckoning him to get out fo the boat. He looked down and noticed that the stream now flowed with blood. He hesitated, but then turned to see the Lady of Shalot watching him closely. He then took a deep breath and crossed the stream of blood and his barefoot touched the cool grass of the shore. It was then that he noticed a rise in the mound of grass before him and an opening.  
  
From the opening came Morgana Le Faye. That was when Draco noticed that the Lady of Shalot was still present. Morgana looked down at him, a smile alighting her delicate and beautiful features.  
  
"Oh, dear child, I would that you could join my court in celebration, but alas, they are not ready for you, still I have gifts to bear for you and your betrothed. These gifts once taken, may never be returned, for they will be yours always," Morgana said.  
  
Draco looked at the woman that stood before him and wondered what she was up to. She smiled at him and then pressed two rings into his hand, one for a man and the other for a woman, the one for a woman could easily fit his ring finger. The rings were of a silvery metal that seemed to ebb and flow in the design, and the design was intricately detailed, roses woven about the circlet. Draco's breath stilled as he looked at the rings, tempted to put on the one that was meant for him, but Morgana stopped him.  
  
"These are posey rings. They hold powerful magic, and bond you to your soulmate, and you have found yours, and so I give this gift, but these are special, the metal used in the forging of these rings contains fae blood and unicorn blood, once you put these rings on you will be immortal, as will your soulmate, and the rings are enchanted, so once they are put on and the vow spoken they may never be removed, by any means. From that moment onward age will never touch you, nor will illness, although you may suffer great injury, yet in time you will heal. You will become what I am, you and he. As it is the two of already possess the power of my ring, so even without my milpreve you will be as powerful as you have become, and he shares your power because of your sacrifice. This is a great gift. Treasure it, and you will be able to watch your children bear children and return to the earth and their children shall have children, and you will watch through the ages, how your blood lives on."  
  
"But then I would watch my children die," Draco said.  
  
Morgana nodded, "Yes, but you will grow accustomed to it, and know it as the natural order of things. Also you will be given more control of your ability to bare children. You see, the fae have the ability to choose when they bare children. Fae bodies are different from mortal bodies, although faes produce mortal children, unless the heavens predict otherwise. You see all peoples are sometimes governed by the heavens, for the stars have many secrets to tell."  
  
Draco nodded and then looked at the two posey rings in his hand. That was when he noticed the inscription. To Thee I am bound, And my Soul I have found. He was not certain how the words fit on the small bands, but they were there none the less, and he did not question it. Morgana closed his long feminine fingers around the rings and lightly kissed his cheeks.  
  
"Now go child, return to your world, and your soul," Morgana whispered and then Draco once again entered the golden boat of the Lady of Shalot and the stream was once again filled with pure crystaline water and then the boat stopped at the shore of the lake at Hogwarts and he stepped from the boat in the same place where Harry proposed. Draco looked around and as he turned the golden boat and its mistress were gone, then he turned to face the castle and saw the light where Harry had disappeared. He walked toward the light and felt something pulling him...  
  
Then whispered words fell across his ears...  
  
"Open your eyes." 


	19. Nineteen: New Beginnings

Nineteen: New Beginnings  
  
Feeling was the first thing to return. Draco shifted slightly and moaned, and that was when he noticed a pair of arms tighten around him and felt a smooth hard chest pressed against his back, then he noticed the hands resting on his flat abdomen. Slowly Draco rolled over and then opened his eyes, and gazed into the bright green eyes of Harry, and that was when Harry gasped.  
  
"Draco, you're awake!" he said, and then pulled the blonde against him tight, as though he would never let go, and then he loosened his hold and smiled at the blonde, until something flickered in his eyes. "Draco? Your eyes, they're different. They aren't grey, they're mismatched."  
  
"What?" Draco rasped, to which Harry reached for a glass of water, and helped Draco, as the blonde took a sip.  
  
"Your right one is a nice shade of purple and the left one is bright green. I must admit it's rather fetching, but will still take some getting used to. I will certainly miss your old eyes, but the world we've woken up to is full of new beginnings, why should we be any different?" And with that Harry leaned down and rested his head gently against Draco's abdomen. Draco sighed and ran his fingers through Harry's messy black hair and then something occurred to him, causing him to sit bolt upright.  
  
"How do you know?" Draco asked and then felt something cool and metallic in his left hand.  
  
Harry smiled and said, "I asked Madam Pomfrey about your condition and was pleasantly surprised." Harry noticed Draco's left hand was closed around something and asked, "Hey, what have you got there?"  
  
Draco sighed. "It's a present from Morgana to us."  
  
Draco then opened his hand and revealed the two rings. Harry let out a breath and his eyes widened. He picked up the larger of the two and was about to try it on when Draco stopped him.  
  
"No, love, not until the handfasting. These rings are special, and made just for us," the blonde said and then tilted the ring so Harry could read the inscription. "As we say our vows we end them with this inscription, then we exchange rings, and we are bound. You see, once these rings are in place and we have said our vows, they can never be removed."  
  
"They are beautiful," Harry said in awe as he examined the rings more closely.  
  
"Yes, and they crafted by the fae. We are lucky, Harry," Draco said and then wondered what else was new about the world. "How long have I been asleep?"  
  
"A little over a week," Harry answered. "I woke up only yesterday, and you would be amazed at all of the changes."  
  
"Oh really?" Draco commented with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Harry nodded. "Snape for one, He's looks like he's in his midtwenties and his hair actually looks healthy, and you would have to see him to believe it. Ginny is doing well. Arthur and Molly were found in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, but they were rescued before they were tortured, thankfully. And the strangest thing was found at Malfoy Manor..."  
  
"Oh?" Draco said, his curiousity peaked. "Well, are you going to tell me?"  
  
Harry swallowed thickly. "All of the Death Eaters, save one were found dead, as though they'd all been victims of the killing curse. Voldemort's corpse was found severely disfigured, and most of your home was destroyed."  
  
"Who was the surviving Death Eater?" Draco asked.  
  
Harry swallowed thickly. "Your father..." he paused and upon seeing Draco's face knew that he could continue. "When they found him, he was in your room, it was one of the few rooms left standing in the whole house. He was babbling about some sort of ghostly dragon with mismatched eyes. He said the dragon destroyed his home and killed everyone. The aurors found the Weasleys in the dungeons below the manor, and your father was taken to St. Mungos."  
  
"So Lucius lives, that doesn't surprise me. He will not be invited to our handfasting."  
  
"Agreed," Harry said and then a thought occurred to him. "You know, that dragon he described..."  
  
"Yes?" Draco asked curiously.  
  
"It could have been a patronus," Harry replied.  
  
Draco smiled, "Now that theory is an interesting one..."  
  
The two continued to talk until Madam Pomfrey realized that Draco was indeed awake. Then the mediwitch was bustling around Draco, checking out the fair skinned girl, and deciding on what sort of meal to prepare for her. Once the mediwitch was out of sight, Harry pulled Draco down beside him and wrapped himself around Draco's slight body.  
  
Then he mumbled, "I love you," into the blonde's soft pale neck.  
  
The blonde smiled and sighed, and then the moment was interrupted by a disturbance that could only be caused by the Weasley twins.  
  
"Say, Harry!," one of them, Fred began, and then George pulled back the screen and saw the scene that lay before him, Harry wrapped around a beautiful fair skinned girl with long platinum hair and mismatched eyes.  
  
"Wow! Wherever did you find this one?" George asked and soon Fred popped up behind him and his jaw dropped.  
  
Draco raised an eybrow in their direction and the twins shivered. "Looks a bit like Malfoy when she does that, doesn't she. Oh, shouldn't speak ill of the dead."  
  
Draco's eyes widened and he turned to Harry. "You mean they don't know? I thought they were related to Ron."  
  
Harry sighed. "Considering all that's happened everyone was a bit preoccupied to be concerned with the full story of us."  
  
"Oi, Harry, we're right here, care to tell us, mate?" they asked in unison.  
  
Draco turned to them and smirked. "I am Draco Malfoy you twats. I went through a change over Christmas holiday and it's a bit permanent."  
  
"What?" Fred said, and George's mouth just hung open.  
  
Harry nodded. "And Draco and I are getting married, very soon, and we already have a family on the way," Harry said and rubbed Draco's abdomen.  
  
"That can't be Malfoy! Malfoy's dead, it was in all the papers!" George said.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes and looked at the two and snapped, "Silly gits! Ask Dumbledore or Uncle Sevvie, they will tell you! Of course it will be in all the papers soon enough."  
  
"Uncle Sevvie?" the twins mouthed and looked at each other with wicked grins and then Fred asked, "Uncle Sevvie wouldn't be Snape would it?"  
  
Draco nodded and then grinned. "I'm the only one allowed to call him that, you know."  
  
"But how can you be that little snot Draco? You're a girl and a very beautiful one at that, and you're, wait, did you say family on the way?"  
  
Draco looked at Harry in a world weary manner. "I thought they were the smart Weasleys. They don't seem to be catching on quickly at all."  
  
A few minutes later Ron came up behind the twins and gave an excited shout when he saw Harry and Draco up and about. But that quickly ended when Fred clasped Ron about the shoulders and George said, "Hey, Ronniekins, Harry here, expects us to believe that beautiful bonnie lass he's in bed with is none other than Draco Malfoy, and they are going to get married, and she's pregnant."  
  
Ron's face drained of color as he looked from Harry to Draco and then back to Harry. "Draco's pregnant?" he managed to say and then promptly fainted.  
  
The twins, needless to say, were convinced by their brother's reaction, and began to throw questions left and right at the couple. Until finally Madam Pomfrey grew tired of them pestering her patients and sent them out by their ears. Ron, however, occupied a bed because of his fainting spell. He had several relapses once he recalled the news of Draco's condition.  
  
Of course, once the Weasley twins had left the hospital wing news of Draco's awakening and rumors of Draco's condition spread throughout the school like a highly contagious illness. Even the newspapers wanted in on the story, knowing that the demise of Voldemort (whom they still referred to as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named") was somehow connected to Harry Potter's hospitalization. Also the rumors of Harry Potter's mysterious fiancée was simply too much to be ignored.  
  
One magazine, The Witch Weekly, had gone as far as reporting that Harry Potter was going to marry Virginia Weasley, who was in a delicate condition. Of course the editor released a formal apology in the very next issue after receiving a rather unpleasant howler from a severely enraged Molly Weasley.  
  
When Molly Weasley heard that both Harry and Draco were awake she was the next to visit, accompanied by Ginny, Arthur, and Hermione. Ron, of course, was already in the hospital wing as he kept having relapses of unconsciousness and Madam Pomfrey had given up all hope of keeping him conscious for longer than five minutes at a time.  
  
Molly managed to convince Madam Pomfrey to allow Harry and Draco visitors, although the twins were restricted for obvious reasons. Molly agreed to the conditions and soon she, Ginny, Arthur, and Hermione were allowed behind the screens where Draco and Harry were resting in bed. Molly pulled out a handkerchief as soon as she laid eyes on the young couple. Every now and then she dabbed her eyes or blew her nose, and sighed at how Harry held Draco. Arthur simply looked at the couple in a bit of shock, still he was coming to terms with Harry marrying a Malfoy, as that Malfoy was not so bad. Hermione's mind was reeling over the fact that Draco was pregnant. Although she'd known it had been possible, it still sent her mind into overload.  
  
Ginny was the one that approached the bed. Draco looked at her with a smile softening his feminine features, and together both Draco and Harry sat up, Harry still keeping his arms around Draco. Draco leaned into Harry's back and looked at their visitors, unsure of what to say. What could he say to the Weasleys?  
  
"Draco, I owe you my life, as well as the life of my child, and from what I've heard I owe you the life of my parents as well," Ginny spoke softly, her voice almost a whisper. She leaned toward the fair skinned blonde girl in the arms of Harry Potter and gently kissed the girl's cheeks. "Thank you."  
  
This of course stunned Draco beyond words, and he looked from Ginny to Molly, Arthur, and a deep in thought Hermione. Molly then stepped forward, "It seems that we owe you a great deal, Draco. Arthur and I were certain that we would never see our family again, and we had no idea what they had planned for Ginny or her child..." Molly paused and looked at Draco, squinting and then she gasped. "Your eyes, they are the eyes of a changeling!"  
  
"What?" Arthur said, finally roused from his stupor by his wife's exclamation. "A changeling? Draco is a changeling?"  
  
Harry smiled at them and his arms tightened around the fair skinned platinum haired girl. "Draco isn't a changling, he is just a descendant of Morgan Le Faye. His eyes are the way hers once were. Uh... Draco and I have been talking and we have something we'd like to ask you."  
  
He then turned to Draco, hesitantly and Draco picked up where Harry left off. "As you know Harry and I are engaged, and after all that has happened we see no point in delaying our joining. I was wondering... Well, we wanted you Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to stand as Patron and Matron in our handfasting."  
  
The two elder Weasleys looked stunned. Arthur began to sputter, "You would have me stand as patron?"  
  
Draco sighed, "Well, that is Harry's decision, I would have chosen Severus as he is my godfather, but Harry is the groom so to speak."  
  
Molly then spoke up, "But what about your mother?"  
  
"I severed those ties too long ago, and they will never be mended. My mother was a Black before she married my father. She would never forgive me," Draco answered.  
  
Molly Weasley looked at the girl in sympathy. "Oh, you poor dear, I would be honored to stand for you. I'm just surprised that you would ask me."  
  
Finally Hermione came out of her thought filled daze and looked directly at Draco. "Is it true?"  
  
Draco looked at her in confusion. "Is what true?"  
  
"Are you," the girl began to ask and blushed as she finished, "really pregnant?"  
  
Everyone looked at Draco expectantly, their eyes demanding an answer. Finally Draco sighed and turned his head to look at Harry. Harry had a big grin on his face and Draco rolled his eyes, wondering how he could still think like a man, when physically he was a woman. He then thought to the child that was taking form in his body and he couldn't help the smile that played across his lips.  
  
He looked at the small gathering, and a wicked grin replaced the serene smile as he said, "I wonder how Uncle Sevvie will take the news... Harry I think we should name him godfather. I'm sure he would love being a godfather to another Potter hellion. Wouldn't you agree?"  
  
"Will it mean I can call him Uncle Sevvie to his face?" Harry asked mischievously.  
  
"It most certainly will not!" Snape's baritone filled the air as he entered the screen off section of the hospital wing, and looked disapprovingly at the couple on the bed. He scowled and then asked, "Why would Potter ask such a ludicrous thing?"  
  
"Well," Draco said with a smile, as he noticed how changed the Potions Master was in appearance, he really did look younger and healthier, and his hair actually looked washed and cared for. "We were going to ask if you would like to be the godfather of the newest edition to the Potter family?"  
  
"What?!" Snape roared and looked at Potter as though he were going to strangle him. "You... Oh, bloody hell! Did he... Oh, Gods! Draco Lucius Malfoy! Are you out of your mind?!"  
  
The scolding continued for some time much to everyone's amusement. Snape was acting as though he were Draco's father. Finally the Potion Master wore himself down and fell back, exhausted into a chair by the bed. Of course no one had noticed when the headmaster had entered the screened off area, but it had been some time during Snape's rant when it was at the teenage hormone phase.  
  
Dumbledore cleared his throat to make his presence known. "Ah, I see that everyone is here. Good, good. And everyone knows of the joyous news, how delightful..." Dumbledore paused as Snape snorted. "Now, Severus, a child is a truly miraculous gift to the world."  
  
To which Snape retorted, "I've had to change a Malfoy's diaper before, I don't even want to think of the things that could go wrong when changing the nappy of a Potter!"  
  
The room broke out into laughter, all except Draco, who looked mortified. He glared at Snape as Dumbledore continued, "Well, in concern with our young Draco, it has come to my attention that his records, or should I now refer to you in feminine context?" Dumbledore looked over his half moon spectacles, his eyes twinkling as Draco shrugged a response. "Well, I suppose I will continue. As I was saying, his records have been altered, and I have no idea how it could have been done, but according to his records, there was never a Draco Lucius Malfoy, but a Draco Lucius Le Faye. It would appear that the last living Malfoy has taken up residence at St. Mungo's, as he has been declared unfit to stand trial for his crimes."  
  
Draco's eyes widened. "You mean she gave me her name?"  
  
"Well, it would appear so," Dumbledore said and then asked, "If you don't mind my asking, Draco, how was it that you knew of your condition upon waking?"  
  
Draco smiled. "After Harry left a strange woman in a glowing gold boat came to the shore of the lake and took me down a stream the flowed with blood. She told me of my condition first, and then Morgana confirmed it."  
  
"This woman, do you know who she was?" Hermione asked, her eagerness for knowledge making an appearance.  
  
Draco nodded, "She called herself the Lady of Shalot."  
  
All those present looked at Draco in shock, even Dumbledore looked somewhat surprised, all those with the exception of Harry, who wore the same expression of bewilderment as Draco.  
  
"The Lady of Shalot?" Hermione asked and Draco nodded again.  
  
"But she was... She was the toll bearer for the dead knights and kings bound for the lands of Avalon, and she took you there?" Hermione asked incredulously.  
  
Draco nodded. "Yes, and it was there that I met Morgana. There was supposed to be a celebration, but I was not allowed to enter, Morgana said they were not ready for me."  
  
"I would think not!" Snape snapped, "Especially after you've spent eighteen years as a male. Have you any idea what happens to men that enter the halls of Avalon? They never return!"  
  
"I am safely back among you, so I assume that I was an exception. Now Harry and I would like to discuss something that we hold near and dear to our hearts..." Draco began and then rolled one of the posey rings up and down the length of his thumb using his forefinger, and this caught everyone's attention. "Harry and I would like to go through with our handfasting as soon as possible."  
  
Molly spoke up, "June is only a couple of months away and you can be joined on the Solstice. It would be a great honor to the fae folk to be joined on such a day."  
  
Draco looked at Harry and the couple smiled at each other. To be joined on the Solstice was a wonderful idea. It would do honor to Morgana, her people, and their rings were crafted by the fae. Hermione, ever the aggressor in the gaining of knowledge then asked where the rings had come from. Draco explained how Morgana had given him the rings, and it was Snape who realized the rings for what they were.  
  
"These were crafted by the fae, and the metal appears to contain the properties of fae and unicorn blood!" he said in awe.  
  
Draco nodded, and everyone, including Harry stared at him, wondering just what effect such rings would have on he and Harry. Draco simply smirked and told them they could wait until the handfasting that would occur on the night of the Solstice. 


	20. Twenty: A Handfasting, Shakespeare, and...

Twenty: A Handfasting, Shakespeare, and a Rough Kiss of Gentle Passion  
  
Days faded and bled into each other, dawn to noon to dusk, each moment moving forward and changing. Harry and Draco were released from the hospital nearly two weeks after the night of Voldemort's defeat. Molly and Arthur Weasley returned to the Burrow, but Ginny stayed at Hogwarts, and Molly visited every day to check on Ginny, who was receiving private lessons to catch up on her schoolwork.  
  
Ginny was present at every meal in Great Hall, eating heartily and talking to anyone and everyone. She especially enjoyed talking to Draco, which was surprising to many. It took some time for the students to adjust to Ginny, but Draco took care of that during their first meal in Great Hall since he and Harry had left the hospital wing, unfortunately it was the most popular meal, dinner.  
  
---------  
  
They walked in together, Ginny and Draco, with Harry trailing a couple of feet behind and talking to Ron. In the middle of Great Hall, Ginny stopped and reached for Draco's hand and pulled it over her very pregnant belly. The baby was moving and Draco had smiled, knelt down, and whispered, "Hello Damian," against her belly and then stood up.  
  
The entire hall was silent, and Ginny gave Draco a strange look and asked, "What did you call him?"  
  
"Damian," Draco answered hesitantly, and Ginny smiled at the fair skinned girl with platinum blonde hair, and then the redhead patted her belly gently and said, "I think he would like that name. Have you and Harry given any thoughts to names yet?"  
  
Draco drew in a breath and blushed, but thankfully Harry came to the rescue and ushered the redhead and the blonde to the Gryffindor table. Ginny's question left unanswered and hanging in the air. The Great Hall erupted into noise after that. All except the Slytherins, who had kept quiet and to themselves since the defeat of Voldemort. Many of them had lost parents and other family members because of the mortal downfall of Voldemort and his followers. Of course it was Pansy that had to ruin the silence of the Slytherins that night at dinner by commenting on the scene between Ginny and Draco of only moments before.  
  
"How can he stand her? A Weasley and the mother of his bastard sibling. Then again, Draco is just as much of a disgrace, becoming a girl, and consorting with Potter no less," she spat, and realized her mistake all too late, because Blaise Zabini was sitting down next to her.  
  
Blaise stood up and glared down at the girl. "How dare you criticize him or anyone? What gives you the right? That girl, Ginny, has been through hell, and I don't even care to think about all Draco and Harry have been through! You may not realize or appreciate it, but Draco and Harry have saved you and all of us from our parents' fates. I supposed no one could save you from yourself though, Parkinson."  
  
"Oh, I forgot," Pansy said with a cruel smile. "Potter isn't the only lovesick fool so enamored with Draco."  
  
"At least Potter and I weren't trying to seduce his bank account out from under him," Blaise snapped and then got up and joined the Gryffindor table, where he'd eaten all of his meals ever since.  
  
---------  
  
Time passed by so quickly that before anyone knew it the fifth years had taken their OWLs and the seventh years had taken their NEWTs, and school would be over in a couple of weeks.  
  
Ginny had given birth to a baby boy with mismatched eyes and white blonde hair, and was in love with him from the moment she saw him. The Weasleys accepted their grandchild with many tears, hugs, and happiness, and Ron had to admit he enjoyed being an uncle, even if the kid was half of a Malfoy.  
  
All in all the wizarding world was at peace, with the exception of one Harry James Potter, who was dealing with a moody and hormonal Draco Lucius Le Faye.  
  
---------  
  
It was one thing to deal with Draco's cravings, Harry still turned green at the sight of Draco dipping pickles into a jar of strawberry jam, but then Draco had to go and suggest the unthinkable.  
  
"Harry, I think we should invite your family to the handfasting. Oh, what are they called again, the Dungsters?"  
  
Harry visibly paled and looked somewhat sick. "You want to invite the Dursleys to our handfasting?"  
  
Draco nodded. Yes, I would like to meet these muggle relatives of yours, and they couldn't refuse an invitation to a handfasting. We could even tell them about the baby on the way."  
  
"Are you mad? Bloody Mental? Or just hormonal? They despise me and anything pertaining to magic!"  
  
Draco narrowed his mismatched eyes. "Potter! I may physically be a woman, but I can still take you on! Now these muggles are you family and they are able to come, so they will come. If my family cannot be there, then what is left of yours will be, and that is final!"  
  
Harry winced at Draco's tone, and grudgingly gave in, although he was more than fairly certain that the Dursleys would not make an appearance. What Harry was unaware of was that Draco was sending out charmed invitations, so that anyone invited would find it impossible to miss the handfasting short of death.  
  
---------  
  
"Ron, I have come to the conclusion that Draco has gone mental," Harry said as they walked toward the Quidditch pitch, as Harry was in desperate need of some relaxation, so he and Ron had planned on flying.  
  
"Why is that mate?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry turned to Ron and gave him an all suffering look. "He wants to invite the Dursleys to our handfasting."  
  
Ron nearly choked, "What?!"  
  
Harry nodded and then Ron continued on thoughtfully, "Well, he's gone through a lot of changes in the past few months, and he is a pregnant woman now, so that is bound to cause some sort of mental damage, but inviting those people?"  
  
"And he doesn't even like muggles!" Harry pointed out and then sighed. "He mentioned something about his family not being able to be there. No one has been able to find his mother, and his father is still tucked away at St. Mungo's. He told me if his family couldn't be there, then mine would be, and that was the end of it. What am I getting myself into?"  
  
"Want some advice?" Ron asked and then continued when Harry nodded. "Run in the opposite direction as fast as you can and don't look back! I mean look at who you are going to marry! You have time to back out."  
  
Harry shook his head and patted Ron's shoulder. "I can't do that. I love the git, and well there is a little Potter destined to come into the world and annoy the bugger out of Snape. And I would really love to be around to see that."  
  
Even Ron had to smile at that. "You do make an excellent point. A little Potter calling Snape 'Uncle Sevvie', now there is one for the record books!"  
  
With that the two mounted their brooms and took off, and Harry felt light and free, comforted by the wind streaming through his unruly black hair. Ron's broom was unable to keep up with Harry's firebolt, but that didn't matter, what mattered was that they were free for a few moments out of the day.  
  
---------  
  
Draco sighed and looked down at the blank piece of parchment before him. How was he supposed to invite Harry's muggle family to the handfasting? Why did it even matter to him? He'd always been raised to despise muggles, so why was it so important that they be there? Draco sighed and dipped his quill into his ink pot, and then a small calculating smile ran across his lips, as he put quill to parchment and began to write in his small elegant script.  
  
Once the letter was complete, he sealed it with a Gryffindor seal and went to the owlery where he used a school owl and sent the letter off. He smiled to himself knowing that the charm he'd used would require their presence at the handfasting.  
  
---------  
  
Petunia Dursley jumped and gave a shriek at the insistant tapping that sounded at the kitchen window. She dropped the plate she'd been washing and looked up with a start at the large barn owl tapping against her the window. She frowned and opened the window, and the owl held out a letter in its claw. She took the letter, raised an eyebrow at the elegant script on the envelope and then broke the seal and pulled out the parchment.  
  
Her mouth fell open as she proceeded to read the letter.  
  
'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,  
  
I cordially invite you to the handfasting of your nephew Harry, and myself, Draco Lucius Le Faye. Your presence would be most appreciated at the occasion, and we have several announcements to make shortly after the ceremony, which would require your presence.  
  
I do not know much about the relationship you and your family have had with Harry, but recently I have come to understand the importance of family, and as my family is unable to attend, I felt inclined to invite all of you.  
  
I am not familiar with muggle custom in regards to handfastings, marriage, and such, but the event is sure to be memorable. At the moment we are still deciding upon the location of the event, but you will be notified immediately once we have decided. The ceremony will take place on the night of the Solstice, or the twenty-first of June.  
  
I know I will see you there.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Draco Lucius Le Faye'  
  
Petunia read through the letter again, and somehow she knew that she couldn't refuse the invitation. She began to feel faint and took a seat in one of the chairs that surrounded the kitchen table. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She then opened her eyes and read the letter one final time, wondering how Vernon would react.  
  
---------  
  
Draco was perched on his bed, in the room he shared with Hermione, sketching a portrait of Morgana Le Faye, relying solely on his memory. He was just finishing the shading of her left eye to make it appear darker than the right, when Hermione walked into the room, looking as though was she we in shock.  
  
"Hermione?" Draco asked as he looked up.  
  
Her head snapped up and she looked at him, her eyes taking a moment to focus, and then she said, "I don't believe it."  
  
"Believe what?" Draco asked.  
  
"Ron," Hermione said, "He proposed."  
  
Draco's eyes widened and he stared at the wild haired girl before him, "He did? Finally! Well, what did you say?"  
  
"Nothing, I fainted, and when I came to I was in the hospital wing with him hovering over me. I pushed him back and ran all the way here. What am I going to do?"  
  
"Well do you care for the git?" Draco asked.  
  
"Of course I do," she said.  
  
Draco smiled. "Ah, well... Do you love him?"  
  
Hermione's eyes widened as realization dawned on her and then she looked at Draco in surprise. "Yes, I do. And since when have you been so intuitive?"  
  
Draco shrugged. "I'm not sure, but Weasel is probably awaiting your answer. As much as the thought of him squirming makes me happy I'm sure he's driving Harry mad, so go talk to him."  
  
The dark haired girl looked at the blonde girl lying on the bed suspiciously, and then a small smile tugged at her lips. "I never thought we could be friends, like this I mean. Thank you."  
  
Draco returned the smile and then a thought crossed his mind. "Hermione, Harry and I have been talking about the baby. Especially since Ginny has decided to name us godparents to Damien. Severus isn't seeing anyone, and I couldn't imagine anyone else being the godmother of this child. Would you?"  
  
"Turn Ron down for Snape or be a godmother?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide with shock.  
  
"Bloody hell! I couldn't live with Harry if you turned Ron down, and Uncle Sevvie would curse me for playing matchmaker! You're to be the godmother, of course!" Draco answered in exasperation.  
  
A wicked grin spread across the dark haired girl's face. "You are absolutely comical under pressure Draco. I can't wait to see how you fair with motherhood!"  
  
Draco grimaced and a long suffering sigh escaped his lips as he raised an eyebrow and looked the know-it-all bookworm over. "As godmother you will have babysitting duties to shoulder."  
  
"Is that your way of getting revenge?" Hermione asked with mild amusement.  
  
"No, but having Harry and little Potter in the house is bound to drive me mad," the blonde answered with a small smile.  
  
Hermione shook her head, and wondered how she'd never seen the person Draco had been before the change. Now she understood how Harry could love Draco in whatever form the blonde took, because Draco, despite certain personality flaws, a questionable family background, and a knack for getting what he wanted, was truly an amazing person.  
  
The dark haired girl then remembered something. "Draco," she paused as the blonde looked up in acknowledgement. "You wouldn't tell Ron that I kissed you that one time, would you? It would be rather awkward..."  
  
"Afraid of a bit of blackmail?" Draco asked with a mischievous spark in his mismatched eyes, and then he stood up, putting his drawing aside and stood before her. "As tempting as torturing your ickle Ronniekins is, I would dream of making you unhappy. I take that to my grave, unless Harry ever gets me truly drunk, and then I make no promises."  
  
Hermione sighed and found herself once again looking at the girl, the woman that Draco had become. He was a beautiful woman to behold, stunning in frosty elemental beauty, eyes alight with mischief like any fae, and the soul within the body was fierce and captivating. Still that soul was fiercely male, despite outward appearances.  
  
"Well, go relieve Harry of the stress of insuring your wayward future husband," Draco said and was taken by surprise when Hermione threw her arms around him in a fierce hug that swept Draco up into a flurry of emotions.  
  
Then just as quickly Hermione withdrew her arms and went off in search of Ron to give him her answer.  
  
---------  
  
Vernon Dursley came home to find his wife sitting in the kitchen in a state of shock. He took one look at his wife and immediately asked what was wrong. She looked up her eyes wide, and her throat bobbed a couple of times as she swallowed from nervousness. Then with a shaking hand she held out the letter to Vernon, who took it and read over it, his face turning crimson as he roared with outrage.  
  
"How dare that boy expect us to turn out for his freakshow of a wedding! Isn't it enough that we kept him under our roof, fed him, clothed him, and put up with his freakish ways? And this Draco Le Faye, sounds like he's marrying a bloke! I won't stand for it. We will not go!" he thundered.  
  
Petunia looked up at her husband and let out a shaky breath. "We have no choice Vernon. I think the letter was chamred. Don't you feel it? We have to be there. Whoever it is that he is marrying must have cast a spell on the letter. Lily did the same thing with the invitation she sent to me when she married that horrible Potter."  
  
Vernon looked at her, a purple vein buldging from his large forehead, his beady eyes looking particular shiny in his anger, and his bulge quivering more so than usual. "Are you tell me that we will attend this... this... THIS CIRCUS! And it mentions here family! Family! So Dudley is required to accompany us! Petunia, darling, I may have to go, but if this Draco is a bloke we are leaving, no matter what it is that he wishes to announce afterwards..."  
  
Vernon was about to continue his rant when they both heard the front door open and close, and then their son entered the kitchen and looked from his angry father to his mother who was looking somewhat tired.  
  
"Mummy, Daddy? What is it? It's him. It's always him that gets you like this? What does he want? I thought he was gone for good. He's not going to come back to curse us is he?" Dudley asked, and looked more than afraid, his body shook, like an earthquake averaging a rather high number on the richter scale, in absolute terror.  
  
"Duddykins, dear, we must attend a wedding on the twenty-first. That is all. Now we should see a tailor about preparing a nice suit for you to wear to the occasion. What do think for a color? Black or a nice dark blue? Oh blue would be lovely with your eyes," Petunia said, before Vernon could say anything.  
  
"Will you at least tell me what is going on? And who is getting married?" the over weight boy asked his parents once again.  
  
"Petunia! How can you be so calm about this? That boy wants us to show up at a wedding with a guest list full of freaks. Do you remember what they did to our fireplace that one time, and God forbid they come to take us to wherever this ceremony is being held by fireplace or that deathtrap of a flying car!" Vernon snapped.  
  
Dudley's beady blue eyes widened. "Harry is getting married, and we are going to the wedding? Mummy have you gone out of your head? He will do something to me, I just know it. He's got that wand, and he can do things with it now!"  
  
Petunia looked at her son and sighed, as she tugged at his collar trying to straighten it. "We have no choice Dudders, we have to go. Now we shall look our best on the occasion. Now I will call the tailor in the morning, and Vernon, do you have a suit for the occasion?"  
  
Vernon grumbled a "yes" and the matter was settled. The Dursleys were going to the wedding, and the would look their best, and hopefully come out of the whole affair unscathed. Still Petunia Dursley could not help worrying over the announcements that awaited after the ceremony.  
  
---------  
  
It was the night of the Summer Solstice, and Severus Snaped was knocking on the door of the bathroom, wondering what in the devil was keeping Draco. He sighed and then shouted through the door, "Bloody hell, boy, if you don't come out of there I will come in and get you!"  
  
"You wouldn't dare, you over grown bat, and I look absolutely horrible! These robes look entirely too big and I look horribly overweight! This is a horrible mistake and I am not leaving this room! Tell them all that the ceremony is cancelled!" Draco shouted back in response.  
  
Snape slapped his hand on the door and sighed, then he noticed Hermione rounding the corner and immediately pushed her toward the door of the bathroom. She sighed and shook her head.  
  
"He's not coming out?" she asked, and Snape nodded in confirmation.  
  
"All right, send out for reinforcements, being Ginny and Molly, and tell Ginny to leave Damian with my mum, she thinks he's the most precious baby since I was an infant."  
  
Severus nodded and stalked off to do as directed. A few minutes later Ginny and Molly were at the bathroom door, trying to coax Draco out.  
  
"Draco, come out now, we mustn't start the ceremony late, and everyone is here. Even Harry's relatives, although it's a wonder they came. The poor boy looked ghostly from shock," Molly said.  
  
And then Ginny added, "And they didn't look much better. I thought his uncle was going to burst a blood vessel. And that whale of a cousin of his. If he shakes anymore there will be an earthquake!"  
  
"Ginny!" her mother scolded and then Hermione took out her wand and whispered, "Alohomora," and the lock gave way and she opened the door before Draco could stop them.  
  
Draco looked up and saw the three women in the doorway, and lightly ran his hand over his stomach, which was just beginning to show the pregnancy.  
  
Molly smiled. "Poor dear, you're beautiful, positively glowing. And you're three months along, of course you would begin to show, but it's not so bad, hardly noticeable, now lets go out there before the men go nutters with waiting on us."  
  
Draco finally smiled and stood up, taking in a deep breath, but the butterflies fluttering about in his stomach were still present, and then he remembered how he'd been resorted into Gryffindor. Obviously he had some courage somewhere, so summoning that courage, he stood up and took the bouquet of white jasmines and lilies from Hermione, while Molly went over the dress robes with a careful hand, making sure that any and all wrinkles were taken care of. Then Draco snapped his fingers as a moment of inspiration occurred, and he handed his bouquet back to Hermione.  
  
-----  
  
Harry had begun to pace with nervousness, across the grassy spot by the lake, where he'd proposed to Draco only months before. He looked down at what he was wearing and felt absolutely silly. How had he let Draco talk him into a black satin shirt, black suede breeches, and black suede boots? Although he had to admit that the satin of the shirt felt wonderful against his skin.  
  
Dumbledore stood in his place, a twinkle in his eye as he looked at the pacing youth. Then the boy stopped suddenly and his mouth fell open. The Dursleys had just arrived, they took some seats in the back row of the crowd gathered. Harry could hardly believe his eyes, and they were dressed in their best, obviously Dudley had been to the tailors and was wearing a new dark blue suit, Petunia wore a pale pink dress and the skirt ended properly below her knees, and Vernon wore the brown suit he usually saved for important business meetings. Obviously there had been some modifications to the spell that kept muggles off of school grounds, and the Dursleys were looking around the school grounds. The giant squid made a quick appearance, waving at the crowd with his sizable tentacle and Dudley looked as though he were about to wet himself. Harry wondered how Draco had managed to get them there, and then his nervousness bubbled up anew, as he wondered what on earth was taking Draco so long.  
  
He looked up as soon as he saw Snape rushing out and then frowned when both Molly and Ginny left and Snape sat down in his seat where the other teachers of Hogwarts sat. A few eternal moments later, Molly resumed her place as matron, Harry took his place beside Arthur, and Dumbledore smiled at Harry. Ginny and Hermione took their seats, and then Draco's head appeared to be floating in mid air, in the aisle made between the rows of chairs that had been set up for the guests, then Draco took off the rest of the invisibility cloak and handed it to a very startled Petunia Dursley who was sitting in the aisle seat of the very last row. Draco then summoned the bouquet that Hermione still held.  
  
Everyone stared at the beautiful fair skinned girl, with mismatched eyes and platinum hair that suddenly appeared. She was dressed in elegantly cut white dress robes, trimmed and embroidered in silver thread, and she seemed to glow. Harry's mouth fell open at the sight of her, as did many of the male guests. The girl held her chin high and with a small smile began to walk slowly and gracefully toward the man that awaited to marry her.  
  
Once she reached Harry, flashbulbs went off. Harry rolled his eyes, wondering how Draco had talked him into invting the press. Of course the with one terse word from Snape, who was sitting with the teachers in the row behind the press, no further incidents with flashbulbs occurred.  
  
Finally Dumbledore cleared his throat and the ceremony began. "We are gathered here this magical night to witness the joining of two very special people, who come together in love and understanding. Now assuming there are no objections I shall proceed." The headmaster then turned to Harry and smiling said, "Do you, Harry James Potter, take Draco Lucius Le Faye, in times of joy and times of sorrow, in sickness and in health, in wealth and in poverty for as long as you both shall live?"  
  
Harry smiled as he looked into Draco's eyes, taking the ring that Arthur held out to him and slipping it onto Draco's left ring finger, spoke with absolutely certainty. "Always."  
  
The headmaster nodded and then turned to Draco. "Do you, Draco Lucius Le Faye, take Harry James Potter, in times of joy and times of sorrow, in sickness and in health, in wealth and in poverty for as long as you both shall live?"  
  
Draco looked at Harry, took the ring that Molly pressed into his palm, raised a platinum eyebrow, began sliding the ring on Harry's left ring finger, and smirked. "After what he did to me? Of course."  
  
Laughter bubbled up from the audience, and Snape looked possitively dreadful as did McGonagall, while Ron felt indignant on Harry's behalf, the twins fought with laughter, and most of the students in attendance either laughed or giggled. Harry looked at Draco, and shaking his head, smiled at the blonde.  
  
The headmaster, smiling broadly then said, "Very well, now you may join hands."  
  
Draco handed the bouquet to Molly and the couple joined hands, Harry's left with Draco's right, as they stood facing each other. The headmaster conjured a long white ribbon. He then spoke, "Only you have the power to bind yourselves to each other, do you wish to be bound?"  
  
Together the couple answered, and the headmaster proceeded to wind the ribbon thrice about Draco's arm and then thrice about Harry's, and then he said, "Now if I am not mistaken, I believe that you two have prepared vows?"  
  
The couple nodded and taking a deep breath, Harry began, "Draco, I have known you since our first meeting in Madame Malkin's robe shop, and since then all of the moments we've shared have been memorable. I used to remember trying to despise you for all of the rotten things you did to me and my friends over the years, but I find that it no longer matters. I can't remember the exact moment I fell in love with you, but I remember when I knew for certain. It was the first quidditch match of this year, when you fell from your broom. You may not have known it, but I stayed with you the entire night, I even kissed you, but you didn't wake up. I wanted to be there when you woke up, but Madam Pomfrey sent me on my way, and later that day you showed up at lunch as though nothing had happened. I want to spend the rest of my life being there when you wake up every morning, and I want to be there every night when you go to sleep. I love you, Draco. To Thee I am bound, And my Soul I have found."  
  
The blonde's cheeks reddened a bit and then she began to speak, her enchanting elemental voice filling the air. "Potter, you have been my obsession for longer than you could ever imagine. You've always insisted on being the hero, and I must admit, you have saved me in more ways than I could possibly count. And although I have shared moments with Blaise and with..." Draco paused and grinned wickedly for effect. "Granger, I find that I can only see myself spending the rest of my life with you. And I only hope that the gods take pity on me for being foolish enough for binding myself to a headstrong and obstinate Gryffindor. And I vow that you will share in the nappy changing experience, barring complaint, and on that note I will grudgingly say, that I love you too, Harry. To Thee I am bound, And my Soul I have found."  
  
Dumbledore looked at the young couple, and many in the audience were struggling with laughter at Draco's vow, even Molly and Arthur were struggling to contain their chuckles. Dumbledore whispered the words of an ancient binding spell, the young couple felt the words of their vow, To Thee I am bound, And my Soul I have found, that was etched into their ring bond to the skin of their rings fingers, and knew that the rings would never leave their fingers, only Draco knew that they had forever together, but he would tell that to Harry tomorrow, and then the ribbon began to glow, until finally it disappeared completely, and the headmaster said, "And now, as man and wife, you may kiss."  
  
Draco looked at the headmaster as if to say, 'Do you honestly think we needed your go ahead?', but kept his comments to himself as Harry gently took his bride's chin in his hand and swept the blonde into a gentle kiss that promised many more. Then Harry pulled back, knelt down, and rubbing Draco's stomach laid a gentle kiss on it, and said, "I love you, too."  
  
Flashbulbs went off like mad, everyone trying to get the winning shot. After nearly two months the papers were being given the story of Draco's fascinating transformation, and of the wedding of the century.  
  
"Potter, stand up and keep in mind that we have an extraordinarily lengthy guestlist and refreshments in Great Hall, and might I remind you of our announcements," Draco said, and Harry stood and smiled.  
  
"Oh, spoil my fun, lets go and get this show over with. Because tonight I want you all to myself..." Harry said and kissed the blonde girl, his wife, chastely on the lips, and then he felt several penetrating stares, and looked up to see the Dursleys, his aunt looking curious, his uncle angry, and Dudley terrified. Harry had ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue, "How on earth did you manage to get them to come?"  
  
Draco smiled. "I charmed the letter I sent them so that they couldn't refuse the invitation."  
  
Harry looked down at Draco and wondered what he had gotten himself into. Somewhere in the midst of all the kissing and cameras going off Dumbledore had announced the reception in Great Hall, and the guests were arleady heading toward the castle.  
  
Harry and Draco began to walk toward the Dursleys who didn't look as though they knew what to do next or where to go. Harry took Draco's hand as they reached the Dursleys, and then he looked at his aunt, uncle and cousin and said, "Thank you for coming. It's good to see family at this occasion."  
  
"Well, we couldn't very well refuse, now could we?" Vernon pointed out, and then looked at the fair skinned blonde girl holding his nephew's hand, and continued, "By the letter I thought you would be marrying a bloke, obviously I was mistaken, although the name Draco does have a certain masculinity to it."  
  
It was Draco that spoke next. "Yes, well, I was not always the lovely young lady you see before you, however, sometimes change is good, however dreadful the side effects might be."  
  
Vernon looked confused and Aunt Petunia looked perplexed as she looked at the fair skinned girl and then her eyes widened as she looked at the girl, almost as though she recognized her. "You are a Malfoy."  
  
"No, I am not. My father was, though," Draco answered and then looked at Harry's aunt. "Harry, I thought you said you were related to muggles, I can see that your uncle and is it your cousin, are muggle, but your aunt appears to be a squib."  
  
Petunia's eyes widened. "That is none of your business, and I've heard of you Malfoys. It's strange though. They've always been known for their sons."  
  
"Yes, my father was rather disappointed with me over Christmas holiday," Draco answered.  
  
Dudley finally piped up. "Hey, I thought I heard something about refreshments."  
  
"Yes, well, I suppose we could stay until after your announcements," Vernon said gruffly.  
  
Harry nodded, "Very well, you're welcomed to join us. As for one announcement, everyone else already knows, but we are expecting," and with that Harry gently rubbed the small swell of Draco's stomach.  
  
"So is that why you married her?" Dudley said, and then looked Draco up and down. "At least she's not bad on the eyes. Speaking of eyes, what's wrong with hers, they're different colors."  
  
Before either Draco or Harry could answer a black bird, almost similar to a raven burst from the trees of the Forbidden Forest and within moments changed into a slender woman with long black hair and mismatched eyes similar to Draco's. She approached the group and smiled, at the young couple.  
  
"My dragon, you do my people and me a great honor by wedding on this night. We watched from the forest. And how fair's your child?" the woman asked.  
  
Draco smiled at the woman. "All is well, Morgana, and these are Harry's relatives. We were about to go into the Great Hall for the reception, as everyone is already there awaiting us. Would you care to join us?"  
  
"Of course," Morgana said, and then she looked at the Dursleys. "It would do you well to close your mouth, unless you intend to catch flies. I am Morgana Le Faye, and I'm an ancestress of Draco's."  
  
"You were a bird," Vernon said dumbly.  
  
The woman nodded, "Yes, I was, I can become many things. And it is best not to fear the ways of magic. Come, the festivities await."  
  
Soon the bride and groom, along with the Dursleys and Morgana entered the Great Hall, which was decorated accordingly, for a ball or a wedding reception, round tables were scattered about, with the middle of the floor cleared for dancing, and a table full of food, with roast meats, various pies, and food fit for a feast. There was punch, wine, and pumpkin juice, and their was a seven tiered wedding cake of gigantic proportions, prepared by the house elves as Molly Weasley supervised.  
  
Fred and Geroge, upon seeing the arrival of the bride and groom ran up to them and Fred (or was it George) said, "Well come on, they won't serve the cake until the pair of you go up and cut the first piece. So get over there and be done with it. We're all a bit hungry."  
  
"Fred! George! Quit pestering the dears or I'll have you out by your ears!" Molly Weasley scolded them. And the rest of the Weasleys, Ron, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Arthur, and even Percy laughed.  
  
Eventaully Harry and Draco cut the first slice of the cake and shared it, and were glad to have the first piece as Dudley was already taking care of most of the food, luckily the house elves had outdone themselves with the meal.  
  
Music then began to pick up and both Harry and Draco recognized it as the song that played during their first dance at the Valentine's Day Ball, "Green Sleeves". Harry swept Draco out onto the dance floor and soon other couples joined them, Bill was with Fleur Delacour, Charlie was dancing with Professor McGonagall, Arthur was dancing with his daughter Ginny, while Molly managed to drag Snape out on the dance floor, and Dumbledore was busily playing with Ginny's son, Damian.  
  
Morgana eventually cut in to dance with Snape, and Snape appeared to be in his element, as he actually looked handsome. Even some of his former students were swooning. Ron managed a dance with Hermione, Blaise cut in to have a dance with Draco, and the Great Hall gave way to festivity.  
  
As the night began to wane, Mr. and Mrs. Granger sought out Draco, to ask what she meant concerning their daughter in her vows. Of course Draco told them nothing and so after congratulating Harry, they went in search of their daughter and her fiance.  
  
The night was beginning to wind down, the photographers had long since run out of film, and even theDursleys had to grudgingly admit to having a good time, Dudley had even managed a dance with Luna Lovegood, which no one saw that coming. And that was when Harry and Draco decided to make their announcements.  
  
With some help from Dumbledore they managed to get everyone's attention. They looked around at all of their guests, most of whom were Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, the press, and Hogwarts' staff, as well as the Weasleys, Grangers, and Dursleys. Unfortunately Remus Lupin was unable to attend because that night was on the full moon.  
  
Everyone looked at the newly weds expectantly and so nervously Harry took the lead, "We have only a couple of announcements. The first being that Draco and I are expecting a child soon, although all of you know that already. What you do not know is that we have decided on who the godparents will be," Harry paused for effect. "Hermione, we would like you to be godmother, and..." Here Harry paused and gulped.  
  
Draco sensing Harry's distress said, "And Severus, we would like you to be godfather. As for the other announcements. As most of you are aware, I am now in control of Malfoy estate, considering once my father has recovered from his current state he is bound for Azkaban, and I have decided that half of that estate is to be shared with my halfbrother Damian and his mother Virginia Weasley. I shall keep the other half, although, Harry's wealth is by far greater than mine..." At that the Dursleys stared at Harry in open mouthed shocked, while Draco continued, "Harry and I have also decided to rebuild his ancestral home at Godric's Hollow. I do believe that is everything."  
  
Draco looked at Harry as if to confirm that was all, and then Harry smiled and swept his wife into his arms, looked out at the crowd and said, "That is everything, now, goodnight to all of you and safe travels."  
  
With Draco in his arms, Harry sprinted out of Great Hall and headed toward the room that Albus had prepared for the young couple. Draco of course had not expected to be swept off of his feet, and had wriggled a bit in protest, but that had ended with a kiss from Harry. Harry finally stopped at the portrait that guarded the room, and hurriedly gasped the password as Draco trailed kisses down his throat, "Posey ring."  
  
Once inside they hardly marvelled at the lavishly decorated room, as Harry immediately set his wife down gently on the bed, and her long delicate fingers began to flick open the button of his black satin shirt, but before Draco could push the satin shirt from Harry's shoulders and down his arms, Harry pulled back and smiled at his flushed bride, as he began to recite:  
  
"A woman's face, with nature's own hand painted, Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion; A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change, as is false woman's fashion; An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth; A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Which steals men's eyes, and women's souls amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created; Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated, By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure, Mine be thy love, and thy love's use their treasure."  
  
Draco looked at Harry in surprise, and a smile tugged at his lips. "You memorized that sonnet for me? You just recited Shakespeare to me," the blonde said in amazement and then grabbed Harry by the collar and brought him down into a rough kiss of gentle passion.  
  
End.  
  
Author's Acknowledgements: First and foremost, I must thank my beta Lissa! She has seen this through from its beginning until its end, and to think it only took three weeks to write! I was shocked too! It has taken longer to edit (wicked grin on my part, Lissa is glaring). I would also like to note that Shakespeare was an inspiration, and this story includes two of his sonnets numbers XX (20) and XXIV (24). Also I gained inspiration from these albums: Haunted by Poe, which includes the songs most inspirational: "Haunted", "Terrible Thought", "Walk the Walk", "Not a Virgin", "Amazed", and "Hey Pretty"; Mirrorball by Sarah McLachlan, which includes these songs of inspiration: "Hold On", "Good Enough", "I Will Remember You", "Do What you Have to Do", "Fear", "Possession", "Sweet Surrender", and "Fumbling Towards Ecstacy"; The Spirit Room by Michelle Branch with songs: "You Get Me", "All You Wanted", "You Set me Free", "Something to Sleep to", "Sweet Misery", "I'd Rather Be Alone", "Goodbye to You", and "Drop In the Ocean"; Toxicity by System of a Down which includes: "Chop Suey!", "Bounce", "Forest", and "Aerials"; and additional songs of inspiration include: "Green Sleeves" by Mozart, "Goodnight Sweet Girl" by Ghost of the Robot, "Virgin State of Mind" by K's Choice, and "All of this Past" by Sarah Bettens. I also composed two of the poems appearing in this story, "Moonlight in her Hair" and "Farewell". A huge thanks go out to all of my readers and reviewers! Wow! You guys stuck around! Thank you so much! I'm kicking around the idea of a sequel, (I certainly left it open didn't I?) so review and let me know what you think... 


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